Life After the Tears
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: CONCLUDED WITH CHAPTER 14 AND EPILOGUE! Domino City, after the Ceremonial Battle. The YGO cast returns from the Orichalcos island, and nothing has gone as they had hoped. But surprises still lurk in the shadows.
1. The Monsters

**Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Life After the Tears**

**By LuckyLadybug**

**Notes: As always, the YGO characters are not mine, the story and the other characters are, and this is filled with friendship and sibling cuteness! Kudos to anyone who recognizes the people Valon is with. I had fun adapting them for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Fandom. Also, I have decided to set this fic after the end of the YGO series, which means, no Pharaoh and no Millennium Items. It still will fit in with my fics (other than the mystery fics, that is), though. It takes place around the same time as _The Darkness Within_.**

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* * *

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**Chapter One**

Domino City was devastated. No, the entire city had not been razed, but still it had suffered an immense and unplanned disaster—and due to said disaster, the entire city had been forced to accept the stunning and alarming truth that monsters did exist and that Duel Monsters was more than simply a card game. The fact was, real Duel Monsters had completely overrun the city. Of course, there were good monsters as well as wicked ones, but it had mostly been the wicked beasts who had been unleashed upon the hapless citizens. Buildings had been all but destroyed, people had been killed, others captured, and those still left did not know how to deal with either continuing their existences or reconstructing the town. It seemed that neither option was possible as long as the creatures remained.

And there was another large problem that made it almost impossible to know how to vanquish the beasts—Pharaoh Atemu's spirit had gone on to the afterlife, and the Millennium Items no longer possessed their powers. What was more, they had fallen down into a deep chasm in the earth. Even if someone knew how to restore their powers, he would not be able to. This problem would have to be solved without the aid of the Items.

Yugi Muto could not understand how or why the monsters had even been released. He had thought that with the passing of Atemu's spirit and the sealing away of the Millennium Items that a bridge between the dimensions could not be opened again. But then, he had not imagined many of the things that had happened over the past few weeks. And all of this was certainly not helping him deal with losing one of the best friends he had ever had. He could only hope that Atemu was happy in the afterlife.

It was very lonely without the ancient Pharaoh around, Yugi had unhappily been finding. Often, lost in a daydream, he would unconsciously reach out to grip the chain of the Millennium Puzzle, only to find that it was not there. Then again he would remember the events of the Ceremonial Battle and sigh a bit to himself. It had happened several months ago, but still it was as fresh in his mind as if it had happened yesterday.

Now he clutched a handful of wire fence on the school's roof, staring out sadly at Domino City. The monsters were still roaming about. He could see a Summoned Skull turning the corner and a Curse of Dragon's shadow as it drew closer to the building he was standing upon. It was truly a miracle that the city was not completely destroyed, the boy thought to himself. The arrival of the Dark Magician Girl (the same one who had requested their help during Doom) and her forces of good monsters had definitely been a Godsend. Without them, surely Domino City would just be a memory by now.

Yugi leaned on the fence, allowing the evening wind to blow his multi-colored hair about. Nothing had been the same since Atemu's departure. Things had seemed as if they would go peacefully for a time, but then the Duel Monsters had came. And since then, many friends had wound up injured. Some had even gone missing. Yugi was afraid that before long, some of his friends would be numbered among the fatalities.

_No! I can't let that happen. . . . But how can I stop it? I feel so powerless without the Pharaoh here. . . . I don't see how anything we do is going to stop these monsters. We need some kind of magic!_

He sighed sadly and in frustration, shutting his eyes tightly. There had to be something that could be done. He just did not know what.

* * *

Not far from where Yugi was pondering, a teenage boy was entering an old, decrepit mechanics' garage. Grease and oil permanently stained the floor, and tools were scattered about. A car was propped up on a jack, but it had been that way for a while. The boy gave the room a cursory glance, noticing that André was not present. But that was fine with him. He did not like André very much. That raven-haired mechanic seemed to have no backbone. It was amazing that he actually let the others live in the back of the garage. Idly he wondered if one of the others had threatened André into doing so.

The boy pushed the door open, listening to it squeak upon its hinges, and then stepped into the well-furnished back room. At least, it was well-furnished enough in comparison to the storage area it had originally been used for. Now it possessed two badly ripped leather couches, several chairs in various states of collapse, and curtains that separated each person's allotted space. There were electronics scattered about the main part of the room, but there were not many of them that actually worked. André was supposed to fix them, but he never seemed to get around to it. But that was André for you.

Abruptly he felt arms come around his neck from behind. Obviously Angel was here. He recognized her black leather gloves. She always dressed as a combination biker punk's girlfriend (which she technically was) and gun moll (though she did not carry a gun). "Hey there, Aussie," she cooed softly in her sultry voice, smirking to herself. "Back, huh? It's been dull around here without ya." She petted his fluffy brown hair, an action which she claimed he liked.

He smirked. "Yeah? Well, it's good I came back then." He half-turned, looking at Angel with his cerulean eyes. The young woman with the fluffy blonde hair (complete with streaks of pink) was always flirting with him, even though she was supposed to be Rocky's girl. Rocky was the leader of their group. If he knew of Angel's actions, he seemed to take little interest. Perhaps he assumed that she would always return to him in the end. And perhaps he was right. Then again, it was equally possible that he was wrong. Angel seemed extremely bored with the thought of staying loyal to only one man.

"You know," Angel said coyly, stepping to stand by his side, "it's really a shame that you don't remember anything from before your accident. We've had a lot of fun times together." She reached out, playing gently with one of the pieces of hair that hung down on either side of the boy's face. It was interesting, toying with someone who had complete memory loss. Without knowledge of who he was, the teenager seemed content with his current surroundings, and he seemed to believe whatever he was told. That made it convienant for Angel. She was not necessarily evil, but it would be a lie to say that she did not enjoy playing with men's hearts.

"I'm sure of it." He smirked again. Two months ago he had regained consciousness in this room and he had been told by Rocky and the others that he had suffered a bad motorcycle accident. As a result, he had complete amnesia. But he had been a member of their gang for years, they had said, ever since he had first come over to this land from Australia. Because he could not recall anything else, he had been forced to accept their words as factual. Still, he could not deny that something did not feel right. He could not imagine, though, why he would feel that way. There was no reason for these people to be lying to him. They were merely simple young men and women, trying to make their way in this world.

A low growl from behind them signaled Rambo's presence. He was Rocky's right-hand man, and could generally be found sporting a skull shirt and wild, powder blue hair. It seemed that he was constantly in a bad mood, as well. The Australian knew that Rambo did not like him, but the feeling was mutual, so it was not a great tragedy to him. What did it matter if that person did not like him? Such was the life of a loner. Yes, even amidst this group in which he was supposed to be a family member, the Australian was a loner. He could easily sense it. "Rocky's not gonna like this, you know," Rambo snarled now, glaring at both of the other two.

Angel merely laughed. "Rocky doesn't have to know," she answered, as she always did. This exchange had gone on more than once. "But anyway, I thought you were out on a mission, Rambo." She flipped her shoulder-length hair out of her way and placed a hand on her leather-covered hip as she looked defiantly at the other gang member.

Rambo growled. "Rocky gave it to _him_," he said, spitting out the last word as if it tasted bad. He glowered at the teenager. In his mind, Rocky was grooming the nameless Australian to take over as his majordomo. And then where would that leave Rambo, who had been loyal to Rocky for years? _This stupid kid doesn't even belong with us! What does Rocky see in him?_

The boy shrugged. "Oh well. I guess he thought I could handle it better." He knew that would only increase Rambo's anger, but he did not care. He was not afraid of the high-strung Rambo. He was certain that the only thing the older man could even do intelligently was fight. But he was a strong fighter as well, and could hold his own. It was not likely, though, that Rambo would try to start a skirmish right here, in front of Angel. He would know that she would tell Rocky and Rocky would believe her. Rocky always believed her. And Rocky had a stipulation about the members of his organization not fighting with each other. Rocky was the only one who could kick them around, if he felt like it. He had never attacked the blue-eyed teenager, however.

"I'll make you eat those words," Rambo snarled, and then glanced at Angel. "Someday." He did not understand why Rocky had even decided to adopt the boy into their "family." He himself would have simply left him laying at the side of the highway, where they had found him, but Rocky had taken an interest in the unfortunate fool and so he had brought him back with them. That was one decision Rambo could never agree with him on. Well, that one, and the decision made months earlier to accept André into their circle, too. If Rambo had his way, both André and the Australian would be terminated. André could not even fight! He was too much of a weakling, in Rambo's eyes. At least the amnesiac was capable of beating people up. Even so, Rambo would not lightly receive the possibility that he was being replaced. _That guy's gonna be in for a world of hurt, when I figure out how and where to do somethin' to him._

The boy crossed his arms, watching Rambo stalk over to his designated section and disappear under the curtain. Then he laughed, shaking his head, and stretched out on one of the couches. "He's paranoid or somethin'," he muttered, mostly to himself. He draped an arm over his eyes. Though he did not want to, he started to doze.

Sleeping was mostly an annoyance for him of late. It seemed that more often than not, he was having strange and unsettling dreams. The events were all mixed together and never made sense, but he could not push them out of his mind. It almost was as if he was remembering past incidents in his life through his dreams. Maybe it was from the time before he had left Australia and joined the gang, he mused. But in any case, he despised and loathed those visions. There were always beasts and chimeras hiding within the shadows, ready to pounce upon him. And there always were two other young men accompanying him, though he was never able to see their features. He would hear the screams of them both . . . then the roaring of a monster, and then . . . dead silence. He would always awaken in a cold sweat.

_What kinda dream is that!_ he berated his foolishness. _It's only some kinda nightmare. It can't have happened right recently. It probably didn't happen at all._ For he knew that he appeared to be his current age in the dream, and yet he had been with Rocky's gang for years. The men he was with in the dream seemed to be close friends, but he could not recall them now. He wanted to make himself believe that they were only figments of his imagination, but it was all too real for that. Any time he would decide it was nonsense, he would remember the haunting, gripping sensations once again—the feelings that he knew those other people and that someone he cared about was being hurt by the beasts. But he did not understand where he would have known those people from, so once more he would attempt to dismiss it all.

_Rocky and the others wouldn't be lying to me, would they?_ He frowned, rolling onto his side. _I mean, they're just some gang here in Domino City. What reason would they have for spinnin' tales? It doesn't make sense! 'Sides, the monsters probably just cropped up in my dreams 'cause I've seen them around the city lately. Sure is weird, though. Wonder where they came from. . . ._

He gave a sad sigh, feeling his confusion only deepen. Somewhere, deep inside his soul, he did not feel that he belonged where he was. But he had nowhere else to go.

* * *

Marik Ishtar ran a hand over his face. In frustration he turned, looking out the window at the ocean below the airplane. It moved calmly and peaceably, but the Egyptian boy was not fooled. The oceans had been furious of late, especially with all manner of hurricanes and tidal waves. Though it may be quiet now, there was no telling when it would veer up again. It might be affected by the presence of so many monsters, including creatures of the sea. At least, that was one of Ishizu's ideas. Even without the Millennium Tauk, she possessed a certain sixth sense.

"I don't see how we're going to be able to do anything," the boy muttered, looking over at Ishizu and Rishid. Both were wide awake, pondering over the known disasters and how they would attempt to solve them. They were all on their way back to Domino City after a stay in Egypt, not wishing to sit by and not try to help their friends in this time of trouble. It was true that monsters were spread out all over the world, but it was in Domino City where they flourished the most. Marik wondered if they had been summoned from there in the first place and then had traveled to everywhere else.

"But we must try, dear brother," Ishizu said softly, turning to gaze at him with the endless blue depths of her eyes. "It may seem hopeless, but there will always be a way." Marik had been brought back to her and to Rishid when it had seemed as if he would be lost forever. But he had triumphed over his wicked Yami, a miracle that both of his elder siblings had prayed for over the course of many years. She smiled gently now, seeing her younger brother look back at her.

"A way to death, maybe." Marik clenched a fist. "The Pharaoh's gone. I don't even have the power of the Millennium Rod any more! How can we possibly hope to get rid of any of those blasted creatures?" Ishizu had tried to call back to Domino City before they had left for the airport, but there had been no answer. It seemed that the phone lines were down in the area—which was not truly a surprise. What had been a metropolis was now almost a war zone. Marik was worried for the safety of all the friends he had made there—especially young Mokuba. But surely if anything had happened to the child, the younger brother of multi-millionaire Seto Kaiba, something would have been announced. Mokuba must be alright . . . for now, at least.

"Do not give up hope, Marik," Rishid's deep voice spoke up now. "You haven't been quite so pessimistic as this in a while now." The man frowned in concern, studying the maturing teenager. Marik was seventeen now, and the cruel, calculating, and insane young man from the past was gone. Marik was wise beyond his years, often amazing Ishizu and Rishid with his insight, but at the same time he was still a boy. He still took pleasure in riding about with his motorcycle and oftentimes showed a reckless, impulsive side—especially when confronted with a breach of justice or possible harm to his siblings. Generally he only became pessimistic when he was in a very bad mood, and the current situation they were heading into definitely qualified as something to put him in a bad mood.

Marik ran his hands through his hair. "It just never stops," he answered finally, leaning forward to study the floor. "Can you explain why, Rishid? Someone's always suffering, and it's usually always either us or else someone we know. It doesn't seem fair." He straightened up again, regarding both of his siblings with a piercing gaze. "Why are we always the ones in pain and misery? Why is it always us or our friends? It's almost as though something figures that there aren't any better victims than us." To him, it had seemed that way especially because of the lives they had once led as part of the Tombkeepers' Clan, otherwise known as the Gravewatchers. Marik had never believed that it was right for them to live below the surface and never get to venture up. He had never believed in turning his life over to a Pharaoh, especially one whom Marik had later believed had killed their father. But since the Pharaoh had since been discovered, Marik and his family no longer needed to live underground. They could live in the light, and had been. But their troubles had not ceased.

Ishizu shook her head, reaching out to lay her hand on Marik's shoulder. "That is not how it is, my brother," she said firmly. "Many others in the world are suffering as well. But even if an extraordinary amount of trials are being thrust upon us, they will only serve to make us stronger in the end, as long as we strive to overcome them and not fall prey to despair." She sighed deeply. Marik had quite a sensitive heart, actually, and it pained and angered him to find his family and friends often undergoing torment. She could understand how badly it would make him feel. She could barely stand to see him or Rishid in agony. Her brothers were her life.

"I suppose." Marik rubbed his eyes. "But it's hard not to feel despair in times such as these." _It's very hard. Sometimes I wonder if anyone really understands what I'm feeling. I have to protect Ishizu and Rishid. And I want to save my friends as well. But it seems impossible, especially without the Rod to give me some supernatural assistance. I don't know what to do. . . ._

"We will be arriving in Domino City very shortly now," Rishid announced, his heart aching as he watched his brother. He wished that he knew some way to comfort him. He had often wished that, throughout the times when they had lived underground and then during Marik's hate-fueled mania for revenge on the Pharaoh. It seemed that he had never been able to succeed. And yet . . . he knew that he had comforted Marik during his darkest hour and had given him the hope to keep living. He could never be grateful enough for that.

"Maybe," Marik replied, his eyes narrowed darkly. He had just witnessed something out the window that suddenly made him feel as though they were all in very possible danger. When Ishizu and Rishid both looked at him quizzically, they saw it as well, and frowned.

All the other passengers quickly descended into panic. At least half a dozen Thousand Dragons and another half dozen Red-Eyes Black Dragons were all converging on the airplane. It rocked precariously.

Marik rubbed his forehead. "Oh joy," he muttered.

* * *

Raphael started awake, feeling something brush against his face. As he started to focus, remembering that he had fallen asleep in the recliner, he discovered that Liu was settling down on his chest. She was rubbing gently against him, a steady purr coming from within her throat. He shook his head slowly in amusement as he sleepily reached out to stroke her fur. Somehow he doubted that Liu was capable of not purring. It seemed to be her preferred method of communication.

His blue eyes took on a far off look as he thought of everything that had happened since the invasion of the Duel Monsters. Their lives had all changed so very much—and his and Alister's had been altered drastically. The third member of their mismatched family, Valon, was gone. He had vanished over two months previous after a tragic attack that he had believed had taken both of his friends' lives. Believing himself to be at fault and unable to bear it, he had gotten on his motorcycle and ridden off.

Raphael only knew this because Guardian Eatos had telepathically told it to him later. She had tried to go after Valon, but one of her wings had been torn during the battle and she had been too weak to get up. So instead, the only thing she had managed to do was to drag herself over to Raphael's and Alister's lifeless bodies and to drape her good wing over them. She had found that they were still alive and had kept them warm and safe until help could arrive.

_Oh Valon . . . you idiot. . . . Where are you? Are you even still alive? Or did you kill yourself out of self-hatred and grief?_ But he could not bear to think of that possibility. Valon had to still be alive. He was out there somewhere. The only question was, Where? He and Alister looked for the boy every day, but by now they had started to wonder if he even was in the city. He could be far away by now, for all they would know.

Hearing the sound of limping nearby and then a hiss of annoyed pain, Raphael realized that Alister had entered the room. The redhead had been injured the day before yesterday, twisting his ankle after being thrown off of his motorcycle by a violently mischievous Saggi the Dark Clown. He insisted that it was only a mild injury, and Raphael had to hope that it was true. The last thing Alister needed to do right now was to hurt himself worse by moving about.

The blonde man grunted. "You were supposed to be resting," he said flatly. Liu continued to snuggle with him, prompting him to continue being amused.

Alister lowered himself wearily into a chair. "I did." He leaned on the chair's arm, his gray eyes dark. "The police still haven't found any trace of the Paltridges, have they." It was true that after the Duel Monsters had arrived, the police force had not been as effective as it had once been and some of the officers had been killed. But the remaining ones were determined to uphold the law, including Gabrielle Valesquez. When she could, she had been searching for any leads to Valon's cruel parents, just in case it was possible that they had found and taken him. But so far she had found nothing. It was very frustrating for her and for the two bikers.

Raphael growled. "No," he said. He had checked in with her just that morning, hoping that possibly some clue had turned up. With every day that passed, the chances of Valon being found alive grew slimmer and more unlikely. His friends were in despair.

Alister's expression did not change. "I didn't think so." He remembered the night in question so well—the terror, the panic. . . . That had been the first night when the monsters had been there, and Raphael had been among the first to be wounded after an assault from Gilford the Lightning. During the battle, Alister had followed suit, being attacked by Silver Fang. Then several angry Magicians of Black Chaos had blasted them, and they had kept attacking until Eatos had appeared to protect them. As they had then stumbld and ran, desperately trying to get to a secure hiding place where they could see to each other's wounds, Valon had suddenly appeared. That had been when a horrible explosion had sent them flying. Alister remembered no more after that, but he assumed that was why Valon blamed himself. _A ridiculous thing to do. He couldn't have known the blast would happen right then, when he found us._

He looked over at Raphael again. "Do you think Doom Reborn did this?" he asked darkly. It had been something they had considered for a while, and it did make sense. What if Doom Reborn had managed to get enough power to summon wicked monsters that would wreak havoc the way Doom Reborn wanted to have happen? Maybe Valon had even determined that and had gone to confront the organization. Then they could have taken him hostage, hoping to force the rest of the original Doom's secrets from him.

Raphael sat up straight, lifting Liu onto his lap. "We shouldn't ignore the idea," he said gruffly, "but they've disappeared too." Doom Reborn had not been heard from since a wayward member had abducted Raphael's cousin Hilda and they had gone to rescue her. They still did not know what the mysterious new leader of Doom had in mind as her "other ways" of getting information, but often they had both felt as though they were being watched—and likely it was true. And it was possible that Doom Reborn's leader even knew what had happened to poor Valon, whether they were actually holding him hostage or not.

Alister nodded slowly, turning to look out the window as the sun slowly set against a backdrop of Blue-Eyes White Dragons and Harpie Ladies. He did not speak the other question in his mind, the one he knew that he and Raphael were both thinking. _Will we ever get Valon back?_


	2. The First Meeting

**Chapter Two**

Mokuba Kaiba bit his lip as he stared out the window in his brother's home office. Really, he knew, it was amazing that their house was still standing. The Duel Monsters had destroyed many other locales. Mokuba had even witnessed the partial collapse of a building near KaibaCorp. He had been horrified, though at least there was the assurance that no one had been killed during the fall. But what if KaibaCorp was next? What if his brother was there when it happened?

He narrowed his eyes. No, he had to stop this foolish "what if" thinking. Seto would not want him to be thinking of such things. Nothing would happen to him. Mokuba had to believe that. He would not lose the one who was his first best friend.

Carefully he clicked open the locket, looking at the picture of the young Seto. His brother had always been serious, but once he had smiled more and had even played games with Mokuba at times. Now he never played games just for fun, and he rarely gave a true smile. Mostly, if he was not frowning or deadpanning, he was smirking. Mokuba sighed. He did not like it when Seto was smirking.

Sometimes he wondered what would have happened if they had never met Gozaburo. Would Seto still be the same as he once had been? Would they both still be in the orphanage, even now, because Seto would have refused to go without Mokuba? Or would they be in some other strange situation? The child leaned back, rubbing his eyes and letting the sound of Seto's furious typing fill his mind.

"Hey, Seto?" he spoke at last.

The older boy briefly paused in his typing to look over. "What is it, Mokuba?" He was highly displeased with the events that had transpired of late. The last time monsters had been set loose all over the city, KaibaCorp had initially been blamed. It had been no different this time, though before long people had sadly discovered that these creatures were not something as harmless as holograms. Seto did not know or care how the beasts had gotten here; he just wanted them gone.

Mokuba sat up straight. "What are we gonna do if, you know, the monsters don't leave?" He bit his lip, tears gathering in his eyes. "I mean . . . a lot of people have been hurt already . . . and even killed! The monsters could end up taking over the whole city!" Unconsciously he clutched the locket tightly. "And . . . something could even happen to you. . . ." He could barely get the words out, and he could not without shedding several tears. Quickly he looked down, knowing that Seto did not like to see him cry.

Seto frowned, getting up from his computer and coming over to where Mokuba was sitting. "Nothing's going to happen to me," he said firmly, as Mokuba had known he would. The child just prayed that it was the truth. "And as for what we're going to do. . . . Well, we're just going to go on as we've been doing. I don't intend to change how I live my life just because some Duel Monsters got bored of their world and decided to come here." He intended to show them that they could not disrupt everyone's routines by their untimely stay. They were unwelcome entities in this universe and Seto was determined to let them know.

"Yeah, but . . ." Mokuba sighed, his shoulders slumping. "How can we just stand by and do nothing, either?" He raised bright, saddened, blue-gray eyes to meet Seto's deep azure orbs. "They're causing so much trouble, Seto! I wanna help so bad . . . but I don't know what to do. . . ."

"There's nothing you could do, Mokuba," Seto answered, perhaps more sharply than he had meant it. It was true that he was still somewhat overprotective of his younger brother, but aside from that, this was _dangerous_. Of course Seto would not want Mokuba involved in fighting the beasts. He knew only too well that people had been getting hurt and that others had perished. And he was not about to do anything that would add Mokuba to either of those categories.

Mokuba knew that was true. But still, he also had to wonder, _With the Pharaoh gone, who _can_ do anything?_

_

* * *

_

_The bright light of the blast temporarily blinded him, sending him flying backward to the ground. He gave a yelp, but that was drowned out by the pain-filled cries that soon followed. He heard a loud thump, then another, and then silence._

_He coughed, struggling to get up. "Hey!" he cried out. "Where are you fellas? Are you okay?" He waved away the smoke and dust from in front of his eyes, taking in the scene of devastation around him. A Magician of Black Chaos was standing nearby, coldly twirling its staff around after the assault that it had apparently initiated. It glared at him, and he glared back._

_As he took a step forward, the ground gave out underneath him and he slid down a ravine, only to crash down at the bottom with the bodies of the two young men he had been with. His eyes widened as he sat up and surveyed them. One, a lanky redhead, was crumpled on his side. The other, a rough-looking blonde, was on his stomach, his arms flung out in front of him. Both were bleeding severely and neither was moving._

"_Hey," the Australian said, his voice trembling, "wake up. C'mon, fellas! This isn't funny." Gently he reached out, shaking them, but he received no response. When he bent down to see if they were breathing, he felt nothing. Horror gripped at his being._

"_They're dead," he whispered in realization. "They're dead. . . ." And he knew he was entirely alone._

The boy gasped, sitting up on the couch and looking around. It took his wide eyes a moment to adjust to the near-darkness all around him. Then, as he took in the shapes, he knew that he was in the back room of the garage, just as he had been before. There were no corpses laying before him and no Chaos Mages wielding their staffs. It was all just a dream. It had not truly happened. Still . . . it was so vivid in his mind. . . .

"It's just a dream," he mumbled aloud, searching for a lamp. At last he found one and clicked it on. He wondered what time it was now. It must be late, since there were no lights coming from the other gang members' individual alcoves. But that was alright. He found that he was not in the mood to be bothered right now, anyway. He just wanted to be alone to ponder over things.

Rubbing his eyes, he got up and wandered over to the window to look outside. There was not much to see, other than the lights from the buildings that still had electricity. Clouds had covered over the sky, so the moon was not visible. The night looked dark and cold, almost lonely. He sighed to himself.

_Who really am I? Heh . . . maybe I don't even wanna know. I must've made a mess of my life, to be here in a gang. And what about the two blokes in my dream? I dunno, but whenever I think about them, I just feel this sense of guilt come over me. Maybe . . . maybe it's my fault they both croaked._ He swallowed hard. They had seemed to be his friends in the dream. If he was responsible for them being killed, then maybe that was why he did not remember them. Maybe he had blocked all memories of them from his mind.

_But Rocky told me I was in a motorcycle accident. . . . Heck, I had a bad enough headache to believe him._ He glowered down at the window sill. He did not believe that he was being lied to. And yet, he could not deny that things did not add up. Normally he would never put any stock in dreams, but because of the "real" feeling about that one, he found it impossible to simply forget about it. The fact that it returned every night, in some form, must mean something. This was the first dream, however, in which he had actually found the bodies and had realized that the other young men were dead. The previous visions had cut short right after the vicious blast.

He did not realize that he was clenching his fist until a drop of blood hit the windowsill. Then, stunned, he slowly pulled his fingers back and stared at the crescent marks he had just engraved into his palm. _Crikey. . . ._ He narrowed his eyes before crossing the floor and opening the door to the bathroom. As he went over to the sink, he turned on the tap and quickly washed the blood away, still confused and upset both over the dream and the fact that it was causing him such distress. _I don't go around clenching my fist that tightly. . . . That's more like what . . . someone else does. . . . I've seen him draw blood that way before. . . ._

But then he started back to the present. Where had those thoughts come from? What someone? When had Valon seen him or known that he had the unhealthy habit of digging his fingernails into his hand? Shaking his head, he turned off the water and took a clean cloth to dab at his palm. The cuts looked more normal now, he observed. He had stopped before digging very deep or breaking the skin too badly. He walked out of the bathroom, unaware that he almost looked dazed.

"What's the matter with you?"

At the sound of Rocky's rough, Brooklyn voice, the boy whirled around to face him. Rocky frowned, his one visible, crimson eye narrowing suspiciously. Several strands of purple hair fell over the eyepatch that graced the other side of his face, but he seemed not to notice. He was much too intent on studying the Australian teenager standing in front of him. _Valon, that's his name. But he doesn't need to know that._

Rocky had taken Valon's identification upon finding him crashed on the highway two months previous and had let the boy think that none of them even knew his name for all the "years" he'd been with them. He was "Aussie" to all of them, and he seemed fine with that. Rocky did not want to give him anything that could possibly revive his memory, so he had kept his name a secret. Not even the other gang members realized he had taken Valon's identification card. Rocky intended to let it stay that way. After all, they did not need to know of his secret agenda.

"Nothin'," Valon answered defensively, breaking into Rocky's reverie. "There's nothin' the matter with me." He frowned, meeting the leader's cold stare with one of his own.

"Yeah, well, that's good," Rocky growled. He was several years older than Valon, and he enjoyed wearing brass knuckles and carrying a mace, but he did not intimidate the brunette. Valon found that he was not really intimidated by much of anything . . . except those dreams.

Now Rocky walked over closer to Valon, studying him intently once again. "Look, I've been stakin' out this old mansion," he said then. "It'd be a better hideout than this rattrap where we barely have enough room to move around. I want you to go there tonight and have a look around. See, there's another gang that's been hanging around. I kicked 'em into next week the last time I saw them there, but maybe some of them went back. If they did, then it's your turn to show 'em that we mean business." He smirked.

"Tomorrow we start moving in, and we don't need them there." Valon was a good fighter. Rocky had seen him in action before. And he would enjoy seeing if Valon could hold his own against any of the members of the opposing gang. He was confident that the spunky Australian could, indeed. But this was to be a test, though Valon most likely did not realize it.

Valon shrugged. "Sure," he agreed. He could handle that. He would enjoy a good fight, anyway. He found himself almost hoping that some of the rival gang would be there.

* * *

Marik glared angrily at the dragons surrounding the airplane. "This is all we need," he growled. "We're having problems before we even get to where we're going!" One of the Red-Eyes roared at him, which did not help his mood any. His eye twitched.

"Actually," Ishizu spoke up now, her voice and manner calm even in the face of this disturbance, "I believe that these beasts are attempting to escort us safely to Domino City." She had been observing them for the last several moments, and none of them seemed to be causing any harm. Now they were all flying on either side of the plane, as if indeed to guide it to its destination. Ishizu had noticed something else, as well. "And perhaps they are also striving to keep all of the passengers safe from the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon that is just up ahead."

Marik leaped out of his seat. "What!" he gasped, soon catching sight of the monster in question. What was more, it was being joined by at least three others. "If they have the same amount of power as they do in the game, then four of them will cause about eighteen thousand lifepoints worth of damage!" Would the airplane even survive such an assault? Would any of the passengers? What about Ishizu and Rishid? Would they perish? Marik clenched his fist, growing much more tense. This was very bad.

Rishid, who had been silently pondering and attempting to count the number of Red-Eyes and Thousand Dragons, now spoke. "There are ten Red-Eyes Black Dragons," he observed. "They alone should possess more than enough power to defeat all of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragons. Then there are ten Thousand Dragons, as well." There seemed to be ten on each side of the airplane-five of each kind of dragon-from what he could determine. But what if there were more Ultimate Dragons than what he could see? Or what if there were even other kinds of monsters as well? It really was too soon to decide on a certain victory for them.

The ensuing blasts lit up the sky completely with a cacophony of light and sound. Several of the passengers covered their ears and closed their eyes, extremely disturbed and perplexed by the events. Others even fainted, certain that some of the blasts would strike the airplane. Marik and his siblings somehow kept calm as they rendered assistance to the others while keeping watch over the battle outside.

In the middle of all the commotion, a scream abruptly rang out from the cockpit. Startled, Marik decided to go investigate. Had something happened to the pilot? If so, what on earth would they do? Marik doubted that he could fly the aircraft, and he knew his siblings were also not skilled in such a venture. He walked down the corridor with purpose and then flung open the door leading into the cockpit. His eyes widened in disbelief at what he saw.

One of the flight attendants was standing by, not certain at all what to do at the discovery of a Cyber Commander in the pilot's seat. Next to him, as copilot, was a Marauding Captain. The original crew was nowhere in sight.

"What happened here!" Marik demanded, looking to the flight attendant. "Where did this plane's pilot go?" He glared at the woman when she did not immediately answer. She seemed to be in too much shock to know what to do at all. And not that he blamed her, but now was simply not the time to be becoming so distressed. He wanted answers!

He was highly surprised to receive one from a different source, however.

"The pilot of this vessel was a coward," the Marauding Captain announced, turning to look at Marik. The Cyber Commander remained silent, concentrating on the course he had chosen. "We saw him and the other crew members bail out as soon as the dragons became visible in the sky." He frowned darkly. "Apparently they cared only for themselves and not for everyone here whom they were assigned to protect." That angered him immensely, especially when he had been taught as a soldier-in his own realm-to never abandon the people who were his responsibility. Cowardice was not something he looked upon with any degree of allowance.

Marik blinked at him in surprise. Somehow, he supposed, he had never really imagined that any Duel Monsters had the power to speak in tongues from the other dimensions. But this one spoke fluent English. "But how did you and your friend even get here!" he cried in confusion. These two characters were not capable of flight. Had they ridden on a dragon?

The Cyber Commander spoke at last. "I think there's more important things to worry about than how we got here," he said gruffly. "We seem to be heading towards a storm of some kind, and we're picking up more enemy monsters." He glared out through the window, having taken notice of several approaching Dark Chimeras.

Marik slapped his forehead in frustration. "What can we do?" he cried, then noticed some of the Thousand Dragons coming to attention to battle these latest foes. He wondered if the Red-Eyes had yet managed to eliminate all of the Ultimate Dragons.

"There's not much you can do," the Cyber Commander snapped, "unless you can prepare the other passengers for the possibility that the flock of Harpie Lady Sisters might be preparing to board the plane."

Marik was about to make an angry retort, not liking talking to someone who also had an attitude, when he heard the rest of the sentence. "An entire flock!" he repeated, feeling vexation overwhelm him. This was simply getting worse all the time! How would they be able to fight off Harpie Ladies? Those creatures had long and sharp talons, and were usually equipped with various articles to help them battle, such as Rose Whip. Many people were liable to wind up injured if the Harpies broke in and attacked. "How, prey tell, do you expect me to prepare them!"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that," the Marauding Captain announced grimly, hearing the sound of breaking glass and the screech that the Harpie Ladies were well-known for. "One of them is coming in now." And abruptly one of the creatures landed upon the windshield, looking into the cockpit with great interest.

The plane swerved, the Cyber Commander not having expected to have his view of the outside sky blocked. Marik yelped in surprise, crashing into the taciturn flight attendant and causing them to both tumble to the floor. The young woman cried out as well, starting to wonder why she had ever wanted to go into her current line of work. Dealing with otherworldly creatures had not been part of the job description.

Ishizu now appeared in the doorway. "Marik?" she asked softly, having heard his cry of astonishment. "Are you alright?" She took in the sight of the Cyber Commander and the Marauding Captain who were piloting the aircraft, and the Harpie Lady outside on the plane's nose, but she was much more interested in Marik's safety at the moment. She watched the boy get up and then assist the flight attendant in doing so as well.

"I'm fine, sister," he replied then, blowing at his bangs to push them away from his eyes, "but the plane might not be." The Harpie Lady was raking her claws through it, and at any moment would probably shatter the windshield with her Rose Whip. Marik was not looking forward to that. "And if it breaks, we're all in for it," he muttered.

Ishizu regarded the shrieking Harpie Lady with a firm, impassive gaze. "It will not break," she reassured Marik.

At that moment the creature outside hissed and spat vehemently as she was lifted into the air by the claws of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It gave a loud roar as its strong wings carried it and the captive Harpie Lady away from the airplane. Those in the cockpit watched in amazement and a bit of surprise.

"That was . . . different," Marik said at last.

"Yes," Ishizu agreed, "but the danger is not over yet."

The plane abruptly gave a vicious jerk. The Cyber Commander frowned darkly, finding it more difficult to keep it on course. "I think our visitor managed to damage something," he announced. Again there was a jerk, more violent this time. "I don't know if I'll be able to get us safely landed, either." The soldier gripped the steering levers firmly. "Go back and make sure everyone else gets strapped in. The last thing we need is people flying every which way."

The two Ishtar siblings were not about to protest. As they left, the flight attendant trailed after them, not willing to be left behind.

* * *

Alister narrowed his eyes behind the visor of his helmet. It was an overcast night. Raphael had not wanted him to go out tonight, especially with his injured ankle, but Alister had insisted anyway. He wanted to get out of the house and ponder on Valon's whereabouts. He believed that the boy was still alive somewhere. Raphael wanted to, but Alister could tell that his older friend's pessimistic side was coming out again. It had been so long and they had looked all over Domino City and the surrounding area. Why had they not seen Valon before, if he was still here-and alive? He could have long ago been killed by one of the many rampaging Duel Monsters. Or else the Paltridges could have taken him away.

The redhead inwardly growled as a light rain began to fall. The drops splashed against his helmet, making it hard to see. He swerved around a corner, not liking the current area he found himself in. He was in the more deserted section of the city, which he and Raphael had admittedly not looked through as thoroughly. And not only that, but he found himself gazing at a mansion that only held bad memories for him and the others. Once that edifice had housed a torture chamber, and he had been its unwilling victim. Another time, they had all three gone there searching for clues to a baffling mystery. Raphael had then been poisoned by a mind control drug and had attacked Alister and Valon in the mansion. Alister wondered why he had wound up there now.

He also wondered why someone seemed to be trying to get inside. He could make out a figure on the porch, turning the doorknob. With a frown he pulled up in front of the building and parked. Was that one of Dr. Portman's minions, possibly returning to resume their operations in the basement? But no . . . this person was somewhat short, with familiar, fluffy, brown hair that had settled into a star-shaped formation. Alister did a doubletake, at first unwilling to believe what he was seeing. But then he yanked his helmet off and ran forward through the open gate, heedless of the rain and his bad ankle. "Valon!" he yelled, reaching the porch. He swayed now as he put his weight upon the ankle that had been twisted and he had to quickly grab the nearby post to keep himself up.

The boy turned to stare at him in complete confusion. His blue eyes narrowed as he took in the odd manner of Alister's attire. The trenchcoat hung open to reveal one of the redhead's trademark midriff shirts, as well as the two red belts around his trousers. As Valon looked up into the gray eyes, he felt a jolt of some sort, but he could not determine what it was. He did not know this person with the waist-baring top and the flipped crimson hair! "Who're you?" he demanded suspiciously. "Are you talkin' to me?" He thought back to the redhead in his dream, but then dismissed the thought. That person was dead, anyway, if he had even existed.

Alister frowned, not having expected this at all. There was no question that this was Valon, but there was no recognition in the blue eyes. Valon did not know him. Alister wondered why the possibility of amnesia had never entered either his mind or Raphael's. In any case, it was a harsh blow, more of one than he would have imagined possible. "Yes," he said at last, after thinking over what he could reply, "I am talking to you. You've been missing for over two months, Valon."

"Are you some kinda nut!" Valon snapped, still on his guard. This could be someone from the rival gang, trying to trick him. "I don't know you! I probably don't want to, either." He took a step forward, his blue eyes flashing wildly. "But if you're lookin' for a fight, you've got one." He clenched a fist, holding it up in front of him threateningly. This strange annoyance would be out of his way soon enough, and then he could go on with his assignment.

Alister ignored the knowledge that those remarks hurt. If Valon recalled nothing of his life, naturally he might become defensive if approached in this bad neighborhood. "I don't want a fight," he answered calmly. "I want my friend back." He looked piercingly into the younger man's eyes. "I know it may be hard for you to trust that what I'm saying is true, but it is. My name is Alister Mackenzie. The two of us and another man named Raphael have been together for some time now. Recently there was a battle with some of the monsters that invaded the city. Raphael and I were both badly injured, and you blamed yourself for our 'deaths,' leaving out of grief. But we weren't dead, Valon."

Valon stared at him, again remembering flashes of his dream. But he was not one to believe in such things and so it only caused him to hesitate for a moment before shoving Alister away from him, nearly causing the lanky man to tumble off the porch onto the hard walkway. "It's a lie!" he yelled, glaring at him fiercely. "I'm with Rocky McCallon's gang, and I have been for years! I don't KNOW you! Don't you get that? I'm not your chum!"

Alister caught himself right before he would have fallen. He gazed at Valon, emotions churning through his soul that had not often been there before. His friend was alive in a way, but dead as well. This was not the Valon he knew. And the boy was informing him that he was part of a local gang. That could be very bad later on, if he was caught by the police. And with amnesia, it would also be bad if the Paltridges suddenly came back. Alister could not let any of that happen. "Look at me," he instructed. "Do I look like I'm lying?"

Valon again looked into the firm gray eyes. Now he held his fists at his sides, still clenching them. No, this stranger did not appear to be lying. But if he was not, then he must be simply insane. What he was saying could not be true! Still, there was the dream and its contents. . . . Valon had felt an overwhelming sense of guilt in the last one, as though he believed himself to be responsible for the two men's deaths. And one of them had been a redhead. Still, it was too odd. The teenager turned away, overwhelmed by his conflicting thoughts. Everything was happening too fast.

"You know I'm not lying." Alister's voice cut into his thoughts.

Valon whirled around again. "I know you're crazy!" he yelled defiantly. "I already have a home, and it's not with you and some Raphael bloke!" He poked Alister in the chest. "Just go away already! I've got a job to do and you're holdin' me up. Your chum's probably kicked the bucket by now. He probably died ages ago!"

Alister continued to gaze at him. "I hope he hasn't," he responded evenly.

Valon was growing increasingly irritated by the other young man's seemingly unshakable, calm personality. "Whatever," he muttered, half-turning back to the door. "But I'm goin' in here and I don't want you followin' me. If you do, I'm gonna punch your lights out. You got that?" Again he began to turn the doorknob. He no longer believed that this person was part of the rival gang, or else he would never be turning his back on him. The redhead seemed harmless enough, albeit vexing. Valon hated the way that being around him made him feel so bewildered.

"I understand," Alister answered calmly, "but I'll wait here for you." He had now noticed Valon's yellow motorcycle parked nearby. Even if Valon wanted to get away without talking to him again, he would have to come back to get his vehicle.

Valon glowered at him viciously before entering the house. This redhead was either insane . . . or he was telling the truth. But if he was telling the truth, why had Rocky and the others lied? What truly was going on? Why could he not make sense of any of it?


	3. The Agreement

**Notes: I'm going to say that the Ishtars have been dividing their time between Egypt and Domino City in this fic, so theyve kinda been living in both places. Who knows, I might even decide Domino City is in Japan this time. LOL.**

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* * *

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**Chapter Three**

Joey Wheeler walked home slowly, with one hand pulling his jacket close around him as he shivered. It was summer and should not be as cold as it was, but the oncoming storm made quite a difference in the weather. Also, Joey admitted to himself, ever since the Duel Monsters had invaded their dimension, there had always seemed to be a certain chill in the air. He frowned to himself, balancing the bag of groceries in his arms as he thought he heard a harsh flap of wings. But when he looked about, he could see nothing. But he knew that there was probably something lurking about. Many of the Duel Monsters traveled in shadows in order to have even more advantage over their victims.

He gave a low curse. This was not the way it should be. They should not be forced to live in fear, as they were being forced to do because of the possibility of being attacked by vicious creatures every time the shelter of one's home was left. Though, it most likely was not even safe _in_ one's home. If the monsters wanted to, they could easily penetrate the walls or the doors—or even the roof. It had only been several days before when a Curse of Dragon had crashed into one of the skyscrapers downtown, nearly causing its collapse. Joey and Serenity had watched that on the news, and Serenity had been highly distressed at the sight. It was a miracle that no one had been hurt in that disaster. There had certainly been plenty of other injuries and fatalities since the creatures' arrival.

_What's happening to Domino City?_ Joey silently demanded in frustration. _Nothing's like it used to be._ Yugi had never been quite the same since the Ceremonial Battle. He had become so close to Pharaoh Atemu that to suddenly have had to say goodbye had been a crushing blow, even though at the same time he had been happy that his friend was finally free to go on to the afterlife after millennia of being stranded on earth and in the Millennium Puzzle. Joey and the others had tried to give Yugi comfort, and the vertically-challenged boy had been grateful for their efforts, but it was obvious that he was still missing Atemu.

Joey was relieved when he saw his home just up ahead. He had managed to arrive without any serious calamities coming upon him or the groceries his mother had asked for. He dug the key out of his pocket as he went up the walk, but then noticed with alarm that the door was flapping in the wind. Eyes widening, he ran up the porch steps and through the open doorway. "Serenity!" he yelled, looking around frantically. "Ma?" He set the groceries down on the kitchen table before beginning his exploration of the home.

He discovered Serenity kneeling on the floor in her room, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Auburn hair fell across her face, concealing the shattered expression Joey was certain she was bearing. She grasped weakly at chunks of the carpet with her hands, her tears splashing down upon it as she continued to weep. Joey was dismayed.

"Hey," he said softly as he knelt down in front of her, "it's okay, Serenity. Everything's okay." He gently grasped her shoulders, causing her to look up at him with astonishment and awe, as if she could barely believe that he was truly there.

"Oh Joey!" she cried, throwing her arms around him in relief. "I . . . I was so afraid for you. . . . I was afraid they would get you. . . ." Her voice came out in a tremble as she shut her eyes tightly and held onto her brother. It was then that Joey genuinely noticed the disaster area her room had become. Things had been overturned in the living room and the kitchen, as well. And Serenity's clothes were torn. . . .

"Did they come here, sis?" he demanded urgently, pulling back to look into her distraught hazel eyes. The crystalline drops continued to flow as she answered him.

"Yes!" she choked out, gripping his shoulders with horror. "Yes, they came here, Joey—and they took Mama with them!" She had been forced to watch it all, and when she had desperately tried to intervene, she had been blasted back by a cruel Dark Magician. They had wanted to take her with them as well, but for some unknown reason, they had been prevented from doing so. Serenity wished she could remember what had come about to stop them, but she could not. The next thing she recalled clearly was discovering that she was all alone. The Duel Monsters had left, but so had her mother.

"What!" Joey gasped in disbelief. He checked Serenity over for injuries, his brown eyes filling with a furious flame. Now those beasts had taken things too far. They had broken into this peaceful home, abducted the Wheelers' mother, and had terrorized Serenity. Joey was not going to stand for any more of this. Now he was determined to find a way to bring the invasion to a halt. He was not going to give them the chance to do any further damage. What if they returned another time to get Serenity? What if the creatures killed their mother, Ms. Kawai? Joey had to find where they had taken her.

Serenity nodded weakly, the details of her experience pouring out. When she had realized that they had taken Ms. Kawai, she had been deathly afraid that Joey would be next and that he would not return home. Words could not express how grateful she was for this blessing. "We have to save her, Joey," she cried now, though she did not know how they would accomplish that feat. Certainly she did not want Joey to end up in any danger, but they could not simply do nothing about this alarming turn of events. "Maybe if we can get the good monsters to help us, we'll be able to rescue Mama!"

"We'll do something, Serenity," Joey assured her. "I promise, we won't let them do anything to her." But he had to wonder if it was already too late. For Serenity's sake, he had to believe that was not so. He had grown apart from their mother ever since the divorce had taken Serenity away from him. Now that he had been living with them both, he had found that not much had changed in the relationship between him and Ms. Kawai, who had resumed going by her maiden name after divorcing Mr. Wheeler. Even so, of course he did not want anything terrible to happen to the woman, and he was determined that he would rescue her from whatever madness the Duel Monsters had in mind.

He stood up. "Come on. Let's go see Yugi," he directed. "Maybe he knows how to contact the good monsters. We'll take my car." While he did not like the idea of Serenity leaving the house, he also hated the idea of her staying in it all alone. The Duel Monsters could return. And so he decided that it would be better to take her with him anyway.

Serenity nodded shakily, getting to her feet. "Let's hurry," she whispered, brushing the hair away from her face. She was just as determined as Joey was. They _would_ save their mother, because that was the only thing that could be. She would not allow the invading Duel Monsters to win in whatever twisted game they were playing. If they wanted to wage war against the Wheelers, then the Wheelers would wage war right back. And they would win.

* * *

It was a long time that Alister waited for Valon to return from the inner workings of the manor. He had determined that it was best not to go in after him, even though a part of him longed to more than anything. Valon could take care of himself, after all (he would especially have to be capable of such, to be in a gang!), but more importantly, Alister felt that he might be more willing to trust his old friend again if Alister allowed him some space and time to digest what he had just been told. It would be hard for the now-amnesiac to suddenly be informed that what he had thought to be his life truly was not and that he had friends who missed him. Alister could not expect him to immediately accept this, especially coming from someone who was a complete stranger to him now. And so he limped to the broken-down porch swing to wait, stretching his long legs along the length of it.

He was not afraid of being alone in this bad neighborhood. Alister did not fear for himself, but only for his loved ones. He feared losing them. That was his greatest fear, and the reason why he had closed his heart for so long. There were not many who understood this about him. The wounds torn into his heart from the past had gone deep. It had been extremely traumatic for him to watch his family members and friends die in the war years before.

It was ironic, he thought, but the fear of losing his loved ones had nearly driven him to kill them when he was under the Orichalcos's influence and had gone quite insane. He clenched a fist tightly, unaware of the rusty chains creaking as the swing moved or of his own, wildly racing heart. But he was seeing the fatal penalty duel once again, when Raphael and Valon had nearly died. _That was my fault. . . . With my own hands . . . I was going to deal out their deaths, when in my normal mind I never wanted to harm either of them! Was it my lot to kill the people I care about? Was that always my lot?_ As always, when his pondering wandered into this vein, he would remember innocent Miruko, whom he still believed would yet be alive if Alister had known better how to take care of him.

_I managed to save Raphael and Valon in the end, when I got control again and surrendered the duel . . . but I couldn't save Miruko. He's still dead. My little brother is still gone. . . ._

A tear fell from his eye as his memories went back to that horrible day when he had placed the child in the tank, only to see what should have been a safe shelter be targeted and explode moments later. His world had shattered in that moment. . . .

He started back to the present when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! You idiot, you're drawing blood!"

* * *

Valon had wandered all through the mansion, making sure that it was entirely vacant. All the while, he could not ignore two things—the feeling that this house had been used as a den of evil, and the fact that waiting for him outside was an odd redhead who insisted that Valon was his missing friend. As much as Valon wanted to say that it could not be true and that he had not been lied to for the past months, he found that he could not say so for certain.

He did not completely trust Rocky and his gang, even though he tried to give that impression when he was around them. But it had increasingly become merely an act. The problem was that he had nowhere else to go, so he did not see how he could leave. And if they had been lying to him, then he wanted to know why. He wanted to remain with them and attempt to find answers to his confusion.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. That redhead's unexpected arrival had only made his confusion all the more pronounced. Valon could not understand why he had suddenly appeared at the very location that Rocky wanted to relocate the gang to. He wondered if the older man was part of the rival gang and was just attempting to get close to him. But that seemed far-fetched. Valon had determined before going inside that the person was harmless, and he still truly believed that. Still, Alister's statements had disturbed him.

_He's crazy, comin' up and ranting to me like that,_ Valon thought in an annoyed way. _Why does he havta remind me of the bloke in my dream? _He knew that if Alister was possibly speaking the truth, he must, indeed, be one of the two men Valon kept seeing in his nightmares. But how could they have survived? _This is all just a big mess._

By now he had explored all of the rooms. Nothing seemed out of place, so he determined to go back outside. He was certain that Alister would still be waiting for him, and he was right.

He was stunned when he saw that Alister was clenching his fist so tightly that he had managed to draw several thin streams of blood from his palm. Instantly the memories from earlier that evening flashed into his mind. _I knew someone who did that. . . ._ Shaking off the realization of what this could mean, the Australian boy ran over and scolded the stranger for not being more careful.

Alister started, coming back to the present. After regarding Valon in almost a daze, he finally noticed what he was doing to his hand and stopped, slowly pulling his fingers back. He looked down at the crimson trails blankly, then frowned.

"It's nothing," he said flatly. "I'm fine."

In spite of himself, Valon pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and grabbed Alister's wrist, dabbing the cloth over his hand as he tried to cease the bleeding. "You looked like you weren't gonna notice what you were doin' for a while," he snapped, wondering why he felt such an annoyance over the whole matter. If he had possessed his memories, he would have realized that it was because he did not want his friend to hurt himself. But he still had amnesia, so that possibility did not enter his mind. "Are you some kinda nut!" Valon sat down on the edge of the swing.

"Actually, I'd like to consider myself sane," Alister responded calmly, watching Valon work at cleaning his small wounds. It was strange, talking to the boy with the realization that he did not remember Alister at all. For weeks Alister and Raphael had searched for him and worried about him and had been afraid that they would never find him. Now, he was here, but he was not the Valon Alister remembered. Though . . . in another way, he still was. "That's the second time you've asked me that, though."

"Sane? Ha!" Valon glared at him, ignoring his last statement. "You blow in outta nowhere and claim that I'm your long-lost chum, and you won't take no for an answer!" But was he secretly relieved and grateful? He had not especially enjoyed being in the gang and had not thought that it seemed like something he would be involved with, but he did not know what to do about it. But now that this strange person was making these claims, perhaps Valon had started to consider that he had somewhere else to be. Still, he did not know that he was ready to trust him.

"You're right, I won't." Alister moved toward the back of the swing, allowing both him and Valon more room. "What are you going to do about that?" He gazed at the younger man firmly, his gray eyes demanding an answer.

Valon's expression was defiant. "I'm gonna go home and forget all about you and your crazy ideas," he retorted, though inwardly he knew it would be very hard to forget this encounter. He really doubted that he would. But he also doubted that he would actually go with Alister. As far as he knew, this redhead was a stranger. And he had better things to do than follow some stranger who was probably completely delusional. Yet, he could not ignore the other possibility. . . .

"And where is 'home' for you?" Alister asked calmly.

"None of your business," Valon retorted, tying the handkerchief firmly around Alister's hand. _But soon, home'll be here. I just hope you're not gonna keep comin' around bothering me after we move in._ And yet, another part of him seemed to be protesting the thought of Alister going away. He could deny it as much as he wanted, but the fact remained that, deep in his subconscious, he remembered his old friend—the times they had quarreled, the times they had risked their lives for each other, and the times spent with Raphael.

Alister found himself feeling frustrated. He knew he could not force Valon to go with him. Then Valon would be even less likely to trust him. If Alister could not convince Valon to come, then he would have to leave the boy for now and try again later. The thought did not appeal to him in the least, but he understood that it might be the only way.

"So," he spoke finally, "you're not willing to come back with me? Not even just for a visit, to see if I'm right?" He swallowed hard. It took immense mental strength to say what he did next. "You would be free to go if you still didn't remember anything and you instead wanted to return to the life you've been leading." Perhaps, under such circumstances, Valon would be willing to come with him—though Alister did not know how he and Raphael would handle it if the boy chose to go away after returning to a home that he did not recall, a home where his friends—his true friends—had missed him greatly.

Valon frowned, confused at this. "You wouldn't try to keep me there?" He let the swing rock them slowly as a stronger wind blew down the street.

"No," Alister responded. "Not if it wasn't what you wanted. I can't force you to remember the past, and neither can Raphael." _It will have to come on its own, in time . . . if it ever comes at all,_ he thought bitterly.

"Why not?" Valon demanded. "I mean, if you think I'm this friend of yours, wouldn't you wanna keep me with you and not have me mixed up with a gang?" Though he did not outwardly show it, he was considering Alister's quiet invitation quite deeply. Perhaps he would agree after all. He did not believe that Alister was a liar. If, however, he proved to be insane, that Valon was not at all certain what he would be getting into by going with him. It would take a great deal of trust if he were to say yes to Alister's suggestion.

"Of course I would," Alister answered flatly. _More than anything._ "But I can't encroach on your free agency. That wouldn't make either of us happy. Valon, I promise that if you don't like it back home and you still think I'm insane, you can leave anytime you want. But what if you do remember? What if you reject my words now and then later wish you hadn't?" He continued to study the boy firmly as he spoke.

"That could happen, I guess," Valon said noncommittally. "Rocky wouldn't be too happy if I up and left, though." He crossed his arms, glaring at the calm redhead. _Does anything ever rattle him?_

"The Valon I knew wouldn't take orders from anyone," Alister informed him. "Have you changed so much that you'll allow this Rocky to keep you on a leash?" If there was any of the old Valon left—and Alister was certain that he had caught glimpses of him—then this comment would get to him.

"Naw, of course not!" Valon yelled. Alister was pleased to see him getting riled. "But you know, I'm kinda warning you that if he finds out you've been tryin' to get me to go with you, he'll get ticked off. He might even come after you and this Raphael. I don't want you gettin' hurt on my account." _I'm just nobody . . . some idiot who got mixed up in a gang and doesn't know where to go from here._

"I'm willing to take the chance. Raphael will be, as well."

Valon was stunned at this response. "You're really serious about this, aren't you," he remarked, giving Alister a side-long glance. _Most people wouldn't wanna risk getting hurt and all . . . 'especially on my account. . . . Why would he care so much . . . unless he is telling the truth?_

"Yes," Alister said simply. "We both want our friend back." The wind tussled his crimson hair about, blowing the bangs into his eyes. He longed for Valon to say yes, but he knew begging and pleading would not help. That was against his personality anyway. "So, what is your choice?"

Valon glowered at the floor, considering everything over in his mind and weighing the possibilities of the various options. "I dunno," he muttered. "Maybe I'll pass on it." But that did not make him feel better. He found that he had a sort of unease as he rejected Alister. He had been longing for something else, after all. What if it was Alister who was offering him the truth about his past—and about his dream? He paused again, mulling things over, and at last looked back up at the redhead. He could see the disappointment in the gray eyes. "Or maybe I won't."

Alister felt a great weight being lifted from his soul. "You will come back then?" he asked.

"Eh . . . just for a visit, y'know? You got me curious." Valon shrugged. "Not that I believe you or anything like that. I'm just kinda bored. Somethin' new sounds good." He hopped off the swing and watched as Alister painstakingly followed suit, easing himself off so as not to further aggravate his ankle.

"Fair enough," Alister said quietly. He laid his hand shakily on Valon's shoulder as he stood up. The boy flinched at the touch, but then decided to ignore it. Alister sighed to himself as he limped down the stairs. "Let's go."

* * *

Marik growled to himself as he maneuvered his way down the aisle and wound up being flung onto a startled passenger's lap as the plane gave another lurch. He mumbled an apology and struggled up again, but then fell back down as the aircraft gave a violent shudder. The teenager hissed in frustration.

"We are approaching Domino City," Ishizu could be heard telling the passengers, "but the airplane has been damaged by one of our uninvited visitors. We will do our best to make certain of a safe landing, but it may not be possible under the circumstances." She cast her blue-eyed gaze around the area, taking in all the annoyed, frightened, and angry faces.

"How can you ensure anything?" a heckler yelled from the back. "You're not part of the crew! You're just a paying traveler, like us! Where is the crew anyway?"

Marik's eye twitched. He grasped at the plush backs of the seats on either side of him as he forced himself to rise. "The crew has mostly abandoned us," he declared angrily, "and the remaining staff is doing what they can. You're just going to have to accept that someone had to take charge around here, since no one else was doing it!" He managed to get out into the aisle, walking toward where Rishid was trying to calm a worried mother. "If you really have a problem with this, feel free to come up and help us!"

"Everyone needs to get settled in their seats, and to make certain their seatbelts are fastened," Rishid announced before the heckler had a chance to reply. "Most likely we will be landing in a matter of moments." _Or crashing,_ he knew, but he tried not to dwell on that possibility. The passengers were upset enough as it was.

"Who's even flying this bird?" someone else demanded to know.

Marik clenched a fist. If he told them it was the Cyber Commander, with the Marauding Captain as his co-pilot, that would undoubtedly only cause more panic. And so he decided to just be vague. "I'm sure we can all hope that the one flying is a good pilot," he snapped, going to make certain that his siblings got safely strapped in. He knew that they would not until they had made certain that all the passengers were secured. The frightened stewardess was also attempting to do this, swallowing her fear as she wandered among the aisles.

Ishizu laid a gentle hand on Marik's shoulder when he approached. "We must remain calm, my brother," she told him kindly, looking into the depths of his lavender eyes. "Everything will be alright." She did not blame her brother for being on edge, but she knew that it would not help matters. The boy needed to calm himself.

Marik ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I'm just sick of how no one appreciates what we do for them," he answered darkly. That had been part of the reason why he had become so angry at the Pharaoh in the past. He had believed that the Tombkeepers' clan had been slaving away for millennia and that the Pharaoh did not recognize or care about their efforts, instead rewarding them with only heartache and grief.

"I know," Ishizu said in a soothing voice. "But come. Let us get settled. There is a landing strip just up ahead. Our pilot is going to attempt to navigate the aircraft safely onto it." Gently yet firmly she led Marik to a seat. Rishid was already arriving from the other direction.

"The other passengers are all in their seats," he said as he sat down. He hoped that this would not prove to be too much of a disaster. Surely they would be able to safely land and no one would be hurt. . . . Surely his siblings would be safe. . . .

He looked over at them as they sit down beside him. The lights flickered again, dimming and casting shadows over their faces. Marik was tense, his lavender eyes flashing in distress. Ishizu was calm, but her eyes showed how worried she was for the safety of her brothers. If the airplane crashed, any number of things could happen. A fire could start and they would not be able to escape, it could explode on contact. . . . Rishid banished such thoughts from his mind. Everything would be alright.

As the plane began to touch the ground, it jolted several times, the wheels barely touching the landing strip and then bouncing off again. The Cyber Commander was scarcely able to keep the large jet from crashing into a watchtower and bringing it to the asphalt. When the jet at last was able to settle down and into position, the passengers were highly awed, thankful, and relieved—for the most part. Others were still not satisfied and continued to complain as everyone got up to quickly make their exits.

The Marauding Captain turned to his ally as they listened to the sounds of the people talking. "They're all so oblivious," he murmured. "Some of them are complaining about their flight without realizing that their _lives _were in critical danger. None of them seem to understand what's actually happening around them."

The Cyber Commander narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't surprise me," he answered. "Humans in this dimension have always been like that. It's really hard for them to see the big picture. That's part of why dealing with them is so irritating." He watched the passengers file off the airplane as staff from the airport ran out to meet them. "In a way it almost makes you wish that some of these beasts could eliminate the idiots. They're an insult to the human race anyway."

The Marauding Captain only sighed in response. His friend had a tendancy to have no patience or tolerance for idiots, not that his colleague blamed him. "We have work to do," he said after a moment. "Let's get to it." The Cyber Commander was in agreement.

And so they left the airplane as quietly as they had boarded it.


	4. The Haunted

**Notes: Please cease from posting "reviews" that only consist of questions about other stories. Not only is that against site regulations, but it is frustrating and disappointing for the authors. If it does not stop, I will not accept anonymous reviews any longer. Either send me an email with your question (if you are registered with the site) or else post a kind opinion about the current story as well as your question and leave your email address so I can contact you with an answer. I cannot personally answer any one person's questions in the author's notes, as that is against site regulations. I will say that being a writer is not easy and that we can only write when we have inspiration. All stories are not forgotten about and will have something done with them sometime in the future. Please respect this. Thank you.**

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* * *

Chapter Four**

_There are many things in this life that should have always been kept secret. . . . No one should have ever discovered the mysteries that lay buried deep under the surface of the ocean. But still they did. _

_Even so, that doesn't change what was in the past, nor how that wicked power descended from the sky millennia ago, corrupting the world and its people. It doesn't change what those innocent-looking stones did to people . . . nor, indeed, what _I _did to people. . . . It doesn't change what I had to do to my own wife, when she was corrupted. . . . I had to kill her, so that she wouldn't kill others. . . . It was the only thing I could have done. She would have wanted it that way, if she had been at all aware of the treacherous beast she had become._

_But then I was corrupted as well, mentally more than physically. I destroyed life after life as I captured souls for my grandiose collection. Most of those souls, ripped from their mortal shells centuries ago, can never be restored. Only those taken very recently were able to be sent back, as their bodies were still composed and comatose, yet alive. The others . . . Heaven knows what has happened to the others. . . . Have they gone on to their afterlives, at last? Are they cursed to be wandering spirits, roaming the earth endlessly? Or . . . do they choose to be always here, right beside me, haunting me because of what I caused?_

The golden-eyed man paced the floor, distressed. He was certain that every now and then he would hear various voices calling his name and then telling him theirs. He was certain that he was hearing them now, in whispers. They would tell where they had lived, who their families and friends had been, what their lives had been like, and when he had taken their souls. Everytime he would turn around to see where they were, he would see nothing. He was alone in his chambers—at least, physically alone. As the days passed, he became all the more certain that he was being tormented by the spirits of those who had not been able to return to their bodies. And he did not blame them, but he did not know how to make it stop, nor how to do anything for them.

_Shouldn't they have gone on to the afterlife, since their souls are free, now? Perhaps it's more important for them to stay here . . . avenging themselves on their captor. Blast, what am I to do?_

The voices grew louder around him until he could no longer bear it. He clapped his hands over his ears, running to the window. "Be silent!" he screamed. "I can do nothing for any of you! Leave me peacefully and go to wherever you belong!" He flung the window open, allowing the howling wind to rip through the room. That should silence them, if anything could.

His long, turquoise tresses came loose from their clasp and whipped about in the fierce breeze, blowing into his eyes and making it difficult to see. He ignored it, continuing to yell in vain for the spirits to leave him alone. Even over the sound of the roaring gust, their voices still made themselves known. There was no escape.

Unnoticed by him was an elderly, yet still strong, man in the doorway. He watched the scene with a deep frown, his thick, gray eyebrows knitting in concern. "The spirits of the dead," he murmured. "They won't leave him alone . . . not until he has atoned for his sins against them. . . ." He leaned against his staff heavily. This was not the first time such a scene had taken place. At first he had believed his son to be delusional, driving himself into insanity because of what he had been doing for the past ten thousand years, but now he had decided that what the younger man was hearing was most likely real. It made sense.

"But . . . how can he, Grandfather?" a small voice came from nearby. He looked over at the worried, brunette child as she approached with her pet wolf. "I mean . . . he can't bring them back to life. . . . What is there that he can do?"

The old man sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know," he answered, his son's screams still loudly echoing down the corridors. "But he must do something. Otherwise, this curse will most likely never leave him."

* * *

Valon rode alongside Alister until they arrived in a more presentable, friendly neighborhood. He blinked around curiously at the houses, admittedly thinking how comfortable they looked in comparison to where he had been living in the back of the garage. He sighed to himself, idly wondering what the gang was doing now and if they were getting impatient for his return. He just hoped that Rocky would not go out looking for him at the mansion and then find him gone. The purple-haired gang leader would most likely not be pleased. And Valon had witnessed only too well how traitors were "rewarded." While he was certain that he could hold his own if he was found and a fight were to ensue, he admittedly felt a certain worry for this odd redhead's safety. 

_He's an idiot, for takin' up with me like this,_ he decided. _I could turn against him any time, and if I don't, I know Rocky and the others will, if they catch up. This bloke'll probably kick the bucket somehow._ For some reason the thought made him sad.

He snapped back to the present situation when he heard Alister's motorcycle stop. The redhead had parked in the driveway of a modest, but nice, house. The Australian followed suit, removing his helmet and letting the wild hair fly in all directions. Alister paid little heed to this and headed for the porch once his own helmet was off. He was slightly amused upon recalling his feelings of shock from the first time he had watched Valon's fluffy hair pop back into place. That was one of the only times Alister had been visibly startled, though it had only lasted a moment.

He knew Raphael was going to be stunned, but also disappointed, once he discovered that Valon remembered nothing. But he also knew that Raphael would never give up on their friend. He never had given up on either of them before. And Alister did not intend to, either. He had changed from the time when he felt that his heart had been destroyed and that he could never care about anyone ever again. He liked to think that Miruko was happy that he had learned to love again.

As he opened the door, Liu immediately came over to greet them. When she saw Valon, she gave a happy purr and rubbed against him repeatedly. She seemed to be saying, "You've been gone so long! Why? I missed you!" And though she greeted Alister as well, she concentrated mostly on Valon at the moment.

The brunette simply blinked at first, unsure of what to make of this display of feline affection, and then at last knelt down, briefly stroking the animal's fur. "Friendly critter," he muttered, somewhat surprised. He was not fond of animals in general, since most of the ones he had encountered had been cruel and mean, but he supposed that being on the streets did that to someone, whether that someone was human or animal. But Liu did not seem to know the meaning of cruelty.

"She remembers you," Alister answered, shutting the door behind them. "Or at least, that's what Raphael would probably say." Liu, he knew, was friendly toward anyone unless they gave her a reason not to be. It was a trait of her Ragdoll breed, but Alister had a difficult time picturing Liu not being friendly, even if she had been born into a different cat family.

"So you don't think so?" Valon retorted, straightening up.

Alister shrugged. He did not believe that cats often bonded with the people as opposed to the location, but Liu certainly seemed to defy such beliefs. She was always following Raphael around and getting underfoot. When he was at work, she would snuggle up with whoever else was at home, enjoying both Alister's and Valon's company. She would only rarely go off by herself. "Maybe," was all he would say aloud. Slowly he removed his trenchcoat, draping it on a chair.

"Where is Raphael?" Valon demanded then, watching Alister start to wander through the house. After a moment's hesitation, he trailed after him. He supposed Raphael existed and that he was not being led into some sort of a trap, but still, there were always strange possibilities such as that. Valon wanted to keep on guard. It seemed strange to him that the other man had not appeared as of yet.

"He should be here," Alister said, finishing his examination of downstairs. "Most likely he's in his room. Come on." He headed for the stairs, climbing them in a no-nonsense way. Valon again followed, casting his curious gaze all over the house as he did so. When Alister stopped in front of Raphael's door, Valon abruptly slammed into him from behind, not having been watching where he was going. Alister grunted at this, but otherwise had no reaction.

Shaking his head, the gray-eyed man reached up and knocked on the door, calling Raphael's name. Upon not getting a response, he eased the door open and looked inside. Raphael was not there. Frowning slightly, Alister turned away from the door and began wandering through the upstairs rooms, searching for any sign of the older man. His motorcycle and the car were both still in the driveway, and Alister doubted that Raphael would have gone out for a walk in the rain, so surely he had to be in the house somewhere!

"Hey," Valon said abruptly, seeming to have picked the most random subject to ask about, "why the heck do you dress like that, with the midriff shirts?" He gave a tug on the material, curiously trying to force it down farther. He had been puzzling over Alister's choice of clothing ever since he had first seen the other young man. It was uncommon to see such an attire on a male, Valon thought, but then again, this male was very uncommon as well. Valon doubted that he had ever met such a strange person before. Surely he would remember if he had. Alister was aloof and somewhat cold, but obviously determined to bring Valon back with him. He seemed to care greatly about the boy in spite of his quiet, serious personality. This, perhaps, more than anything else, was what had intrigued Valon and had made him agree to come along.

Alister paused, nearly causing the teenager to slam into him again. He turned around, slowly raising an eyebrow at him, and then continued down the hall. "I just happen to feel like it," was the only answer he gave. He checked the rest of the rooms and then wondered if Raphael was in the basement for some reason. Deciding to investigate, he headed back to the stairs.

Valon was not satisfied. "Yeah? Why?" he demanded, following the lanky redhead back to the main level and then down the basement stairs. He noticed that a light was on at the bottom.

Alister grunted. "Does it bother you?" he countered. Reaching the bottom, he looked around for any sign of the older man. Since the light was on, it seemed that he must surely be around somewhere. But why did he not simply come out? Surely he could hear them talking. Alister started to wonder if their friend was alright.

Valon blinked, somewhat taken aback by the unexpected question. "Naw, not exactly," he responded then. "It just looks kinda . . . weird, y'know?" Then he noticed that Alister was not listening. The redhead had gone across the room and was kneeling down in the shadows next to a form on the floor. Confused, Valon went over as well. "What's goin' on?"

Alister shook his head. "I don't know," he said grimly, "but this is Raphael here. He's hurt." This was an immense shock to him. He did not understand what could have happened. The blonde man was laying on his stomach, his arms flung out, and he appeared to have no visible wounds. Liu, who had gone downstairs ahead of Alister and Valon, was nudging him and rubbing against him, trying to wake him up.

After a moment the man responded, grunting as his eyes fluttered open. He tried to focus and soon discovered that he was staring at the carpet—and at Liu, as she abruptly stood in front of him and licked his face. "What happened?" he muttered, reaching out weakly to pet the feline.

"I wish you could tell us," Alister answered, relieved that Raphael was conscious.

"'Us'?" Raphael instantly responded, feeling confused. He pulled himself into a sitting position, blinking at Alister. When he saw the boy who was standing uncomfortably next to the redhead, the blonde's eyes widened in disbelief and shock. "Valon?" he cried, wondering if he was hallucinating or even still unconscious, and dreaming. The Australian looked the same, yet different. He was wearing a sleeveless white T-shirt, blue jeans, and his red boots and trusty goggles, which was all usual, but Raphael realized that it was the eyes that were different. There was no recognition in the blue orbs. Instead he saw only discomfort.

"Yeah, that's what he tells me my name is," Valon answered, jerking a thumb in Alister's direction. "Uh . . . you okay?" He could not deny how odd this all seemed to him. Alister was certain that Valon was his and Raphael's friend, but if that strangeness was not enough, Raphael had just been found senseless on the floor. Valon had to wonder again what sort of weird people he had just fallen in with.

Shock and alarm eclipsed Raphael's features. Valon did not know them? Raphael was stunned. At times he had vaguely considered such a possibility—though he had never spoken to Alister of it—but he realized now that he had actually believed it more likely that Valon would turn up dead rather than as an amnesiac. He looked to Alister for confirmation, too overwhelmed to speak at the moment.

"He doesn't remember us," the redhead explained quietly, summarizing his earlier encounter with Valon at the manor. He ended with the fact that Valon had come with him "for a visit," to look around and see if he recalled anything, but his gray eyes silently told Raphael that Valon remembered nothing as of yet.

Raphael swallowed hard. "I see," he said finally, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to look at Valon once again. "You don't remember anything?"

"No, I don't!" Valon cried, growing impatient. "I don't remember you, or him, or the cat, or this place, or that my name's Valon!" He crossed his arms, ignoring the stricken look that passed through Raphael's eyes. "I'm just a nobody in a random gang that's probably gonna be forgotten about in a year or so." He studied the older man, watching as the cat climbed up onto his lap. "But what the heck did happen to you, anyway?"

Raphael absently petted Liu, holding back the feelings of sadness and frustration that were running through his mind. How long would it take them to be able to restore Valon's memories? Would that ever even happen at all? Or would the Valon they knew be lost to them forever? He was so caught up in such thoughts that he had a hard time steering his attention back to the question Valon had asked. All he could think of was how Valon was referring to himself as a "nobody." That had pained him.

"Well?" Valon demanded, breaking into his thoughts.

"I don't know," Raphael growled finally. "I just seemed to slip and fall. The carpet must have been loose." As he continued to pet Liu, he suddenly felt the cat's body stiffen. When he looked down at her questioningly, he saw that she was staring at the wall and hissing loudly. As he followed her gaze, he realized what actually must have happened instead—there was a Shadow Ghoul in their house, and it had obviously attacked him. Now it was streaking along the wall, preparing to leap out and strike again.

* * *

Serenity swallowed hard as Joey finally pulled up in front of the Turtle Game Shop. Shakily she opened the passenger door and stepped out onto the sidewalk, trying to ignore the screech of the Curse of Dragon in the sky. She waited for her brother to follow, then hurriedly went up the walk and opened the front door of the building, not wanting to stay outside any longer than was necessary. The shop was still lighted up, but business seemed very slow—perhaps due both to the facts that it was getting quite late and also, that not many people wanted to venture out at night anymore, in light of what they might find. 

"Hello?" she called timidly, not seeing Solomon at the counter. "Is anyone here?"

Joey walked past her, heading for the stairs. "They're probably up in the house part," he said, intending to just go on up. When he saw Serenity's dubious expression, he smiled in a reassuring way and added, "Eh, I do this all the time. Yug doesn't mind. Come on, sis." He motioned for her to follow him, and after a moment she did, though she still seemed nervous about simply barging in on someone's living quarters. It was not something she did or would even ever dream of doing. But Joey was not her, and she supposed that Yugi probably truly did not mind, since they had such a close friendship.

As they arrived in the living room, Joey nearly bumped into Yugi as he was coming through the doorway. The vertically challenged boy blinked in surprise before gazing up at his friend. "Joey!" he exclaimed, giving a genuine smile. "What are you doing here?" He did not notice Serenity at first, as she was standing behind Joey at the moment and had not spoken as of yet.

Joey grinned. "Can't a guy visit his buddy?" he answered, rubbing his nose before abruptly becoming serious. "Actually, Yug, we've got a problem. It's good to see you're okay and all. Is your grampa okay too?" He glanced about, as if expecting to see Solomon suddenly appear.

Yugi nodded. "He's okay," he confirmed. "Right now he's in the back, doing inventory. I guess that's why he didn't hear you come in. I was just going down to help him out." He looked at his friend worriedly. "But what's this problem, Joey?"

Now Serenity stepped out, looking at Yugi with upset hazel eyes. "The problem is that our mother was taken by the Duel Monsters!" she cried, clasping her hands. She quickly explained again what had happened, with Joey occasionally interjecting remarks. Yugi listened to it all, absolutely stunned and horrified.

"So," Joey finished a moment later, "we were hoping you knew how to get a hold of the good monsters and all, since the Dark Magician Girl used to drop in on you sometimes." He avoided mentioning Atemu, but he knew that he and Yugi were both thinking of him at this point.

Yugi bit his lip. "I wish I did know," he said reluctantly, feeling terrible that he could not offer more assistance. The fact was that he had no idea where the good monsters were staying. They were probably spread out all over the globe, fighting the treacherous creatures and being wounded or even destroyed. "I'll help however I can," he offered, though he knew that there was not much he could do. But he could not bear seeing Serenity's distress. It reminded him of when his grandfather had been taken by Pegasus and he had not known at first how he would ever succeed in getting his soul back.

"Thanks, pal," Joey said.

Serenity hid her disappointment that Yugi did not know how to contact the good monsters. "You're so kind, Yugi," she said softly, "but I just don't know what we're ever going to do! Why would they take her?" She clenched her fists tightly, a fresh wave of desperation passing over her.

"That's what we have to find out!" Yugi said in determination. He knew that Atemu would never give up in this situation, and he would not, either. He would never give up when his friends needed him. "I promise, we will! And then we'll save Ms. Kawai." _Easier said than done,_ he knew. Perhaps they had taken her as a hostage, someone to use to barter lives with. He did not think they would kill her, at least not yet. But what if their reason for taking her was much darker than he and his friends could even imagine?

They were startled out of their discussion by the sharp jangling of the telephone. Frowning in confusion and concern, Yugi walked over and removed the receiver. "Muto residence," he said into it. In the split second before the reply came, he worried over who might be calling and what sort of new problem might be arising. He watched as Joey and Serenity slowly came over, worry shining in their eyes as well.

"Yugi?" The familiar, yet odd-sounding, voice crackled amongst the static on the telephone.

Yugi blinked in complete astonishment. "Marik!" he gasped, eyes widening. "What's going on? Are you calling from Egypt?" He knew that Marik and his siblings had been staying in Egypt for the past couple of months, supervising several archaeological digs in parts of the desert, and making certain that no one tried to dig in the area where the Millennium Items were buried. Right now there was so much static on the line that Yugi could not believe the blonde boy was calling from somewhere nearby. Besides, they had been scheduled to remain in Egypt for at least two more weeks.

"No," Marik answered, struggling to keep the door of the payphone booth shut against the fierce wind, "from the airport on the outskirts of town." He closed one eye tightly, frustrated at this latest disaster. It seemed that his battle with the door had already ended and that it had won. It flapped wildly. "Ishizu wanted me to call, for all the good it will do." Yugi heard a cracking sound, followed by the shattering of glass.

"Marik, what's happening there!" he exclaimed, forgetting to ask why the Ishtars were back in Domino City. "It sounds like you're being attacked!"

"Well, that's not far from the truth!" Marik yelled back. "The airport has been overrun with Duel Monsters!" He started to say something else, but there was an abrupt roar and then a click. His side of the phone had gone dead.

* * *

Ryou Bakura unlocked the door of the empty home and slowly went in, shutting the door behind him before searching for the light and turning it on. He was not afraid of the darkness of a mere room. The darkness he feared was much deeper than that. 

A meow greeted him and he smiled, reaching down to pet Oreo as she scampered into the room. The short-haired feline rubbed against him, then looked about, as if trying to see if Yami Bakura was hiding behind Ryou or the furniture. Upon not finding him, she sat down, pouting, and gave a guttural meow.

Ryou sighed sadly, picking her up as he set his school books down. He had been staying late at the library, studying (as he had often done in the past months), but had finally decided that he had best go home. With the Duel Monsters invasion, nothing was safe—and he had wanted to make sure that Oreo was. "I'm sorry," he said softly, sitting wearily on the couch with the black-and-white cat in his arms. "Yami isn't here." But he knew Oreo did not understand.

He had often been the most quiet and reserved one amongst Yugi's friends, even more so after the Ceremonial Battle. Yes, his Yami had done many horrible things, but the truth was that he actually had not been fond of beating Ryou, even though many rumors had been circulated around that it was so. Occassionally the thief had helped Ryou, though he always insisted that it was only in order to further his own plans. And there had been the strange way that Oreo adored him. Neither Ryou nor his Yami had been able to explain how that had happened, but it had, and now Oreo was often moping around the house, missing the rascal.

Ryou looked up at the ceiling. In addition to that, his father was still off traveling somewhere. The boy actually did not know if he was alright, in light of what had been occurring of late. He was afraid that some of the Duel Monsters had killed him. But there was no way of knowing. He had no telephone number to contact him. "It's just the two of us, Oreo," he said then, with a weak smile.

Oreo placed her front paws on his chest, flicking her long tail.

"I know," the boy exclaimed then, getting up. "Let's get something to eat." Oreo meowed approvingly at the suggestion, and they went into the kitchen. Ryou had an extraordinary appetite, made even more incredible by the fact that he never seemed to gain weight from all the food he consumed. Now he began to search through the cupboards to see what they had left. Oreo, now sitting on his shoulder, watched with eager interest.

Ryou chuckled softly as he opened a can of cat food for her. "I guess I'll never really be alone with you around," he said in amusement, watching the feline hop down and began munching greedily on the diced beef.

This brought up a question that he had pondered over many times since the fateful Ceremonial Battle: Did he truly miss his Yami? It was not a question that was easy to answer. He did not miss the havoc that the ancient spirit had caused. Getting into one near-death experience after another because of his Yami's obsession with collecting all of the Millennium Items was not his idea of a fun time. But from various cryptic statements Yami Bakura had made at one time or another, Ryou had eventually gleaned that there was a deep, personal reason why the thief wanted the Items so badly. He had never been able to determine what that had been, however.

_I think . . . somewhere underneath all of his anger and insanity . . . there was a good person,_ the boy mused, petting Oreo gently after setting some water to boil in order to make macaroni and cheese. _But I guess . . . I'll never have the chance to find out about him now._

He rubbed his eyes, listening idly to the roar of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that was flying over the house. _On second thought, though, I may not be alive very much longer, either._ He shuddered, wondering if the end of the world was near. At this point, it seemed rather possible.


	5. The Mercenary

**Notes: When I first started writing in the fandom, I was never certain what was Bakura's first name and what was his last name. Now that I know the correct order of his name, and since this story is independent from my mysteries, I decided to just see what it would be like to call Bakura "Ryou." I have decided that I definitely prefer "Bakura."**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Five**

Before the Shadow Ghoul could reach the bikers, it abruptly fled once again, disappearing through a crack in the window. Frowning, Alister went over to look out and saw it streaking across the outside wall. He had to wonder why it had exited in the first place. Had it heard some sort of signal on a frequency that only Duel Monsters were receptive to? And if so, who had sent it and why? Slowly he shut and locked the window, also wondering how it had gotten open at all. When questioned, Raphael said that he did not know how it had happened.

"So . . . what was that thing?" Valon asked, leaning on the wall and crossing his arms.

"A Shadow Ghoul," Raphael growled, setting Liu on the floor. "I'm guessing you know about the Duel Monster invasion all over the city." Even with amnesia, it would be impossible for Valon not to have noticed.

"Yeah, I know somethin' about it," Valon confirmed. "What I don't get is how come I don't remember you fellas, if it's really true that I live here." He frowned at them suspiciously, deciding that it would be a good idea for him to stay on his guard even though they seemed harmless. "I'm in Rocky's gang."

Raphael clenched a fist. _Valon . . . what happened to you?_ He could imagine the immense agony the boy had been under, believing that he was responsible for his friends' deaths. What seemed so inconceivable to the blonde man was that now Valon seemed to not care at all about either of them. He was leaning on the wall, looking uncomfortable and bored, and his gaze kept wandering all about. And yet . . . he _was_ here. Perhaps that said something.

Alister decided to change the subject, seeing that Raphael was still reeling at the discovery of Valon's memory loss. "Why were you here in the basement?" he asked. "Did you know that the window was slightly open? That's probably how the Shadow Ghoul got in."

Raphael grunted. "I thought I heard a noise," he remembered, "so I came down to investigate. I didn't see that the window was open. At least, I don't think I did." He rubbed his head again, wondering if he himself could be experiencing memory loss to a much lesser degree and did not recall the events that occurred immediately before he had been knocked unconscious.

"It's strange," Alister remarked, crossing his arms. "I wonder if someone outside was purposely opening the window to let the Shadow Ghoul in."

Valon frowned at him. "Why would someone wanna do that?" he demanded.

"We have a lot of enemies, unfortunately," Raphael answered with a sigh.

"I guess!" Valon snapped.

He looked around the basement curiously, then sighed. "So . . . where's my room?" he asked slowly. "Maybe I'd remember somethin' in there . . . if all this is on the up and up." Soon, but not right now, he wanted to ask them about the events in his dream. At this point he did not want to. He wanted to get to know them both a bit better first.

"It's upstairs," Raphael offered quietly. "It's between the other two bedrooms."

He and Alister watched Valon leave to go upstairs and investigate. Then they both sighed. Raphael ran a hand through his hair.

"He's different," the blonde man said quietly. He missed the Valon he remembered—the cheerful, mischievous Australian who enjoyed being with his friends and gently teasing Alister. This new Valon was abrupt, obviously uneasy, and did not seem to like either of those who were his friends. Raphael felt a twisting in his heart.

"Yes," Alister agreed, and voiced Raphael's thoughts from a moment before. "But he did come back with me. I guess that should count for something."

Raphael nodded slowly. "You're right," he admitted. "But will the Valon we know ever return?" He spoke darkly and pessimistically, as was often his way. Memory loss, either his own or a friend's, had not been something he had ever had to deal with before. He was unsure how to handle it, though he did know that it would require a lot of patience and kindness on his and Alister's parts. And if Valon did want to go back to the gang, Raphael knew that they would have to let him go. Alister had promised it, and Raphael could see the wisdom behind that promise.

"I hope so," Alister replied.

* * *

Outside, Domino City was lazily shifting from evening to night, and the overcast skies persisted. If anyone had seen the lone stranger trudging down the street, it would have been a surprise. People simply did not stray out of their homes after dark, and especially not as it neared midnight. The Duel Monsters who noticed the figure perked up with interest, but then would growl low and threateningly. The stranger glared at them coldly in return. 

He was having a difficult time grasping the concept of what had been happening in Domino City since he had last been in town. How had Duel Monsters gotten loose? The last time that had occurred had been during the time of the Doom organization, when the bridge between the dimensions had been severed. He frowned, wondering if it was possible that such a thing had happened again. But how would that be possible?

At the corner he bought a newspaper at the automatic stand. Carefully he removed it from the box and opened it up, glancing over the main page. Not finding anything that explained what was going on, he turned the page. Glancing at the various news stories, he then caught sight of one that definitely did interest him.

**Paradius Corporation Being Rebuilt**

He frowned, moving into the light of a streetlamp to see it better. "Paradius, hmm?" he mused. According to the short article, someone who was still unknown had made a deal with the government and had bought the Paradius lot. For the last couple of months, a construction company had been working to rebuild the skyscraper. The owner expected the corporation to reopen within a few months.

"Strange," the man declared to himself. "Why would the government allow this? How would they know that they could trust this person to not be using Paradius as a front, the way it was used before?" He folded up the paper thoughtfully. "I do believe that there's more going on here than meets the eye."

He had to wonder if the Doom organization was being started up again. Perhaps that was why the spirits were so angry. Maybe they knew that there was not hope for them, but they wanted him to fix things before the problem started all over again for other people. It made quite a bit of sense to him.

"I believe I've been gone much too long," he decided. "I think it's time I began investigating into these . . . abnormal goings-on." He disappeared down a nearby street, not knowing that the Duel Monsters were watching him. But he would not have cared even if he had realized.

* * *

Valon gazed around his room, looking from the bed to the shelves filled with manga and anime to the CD player and the various CD cases that were stacked around it. Idly he lifted one up to look at it. The album was Linkin Park's _Meteora_. Yes, he knew he liked Linkin Park. That was something in favor of these people's story, he supposed. Though if they were faking, Valon knew that it would be necessary for them to learn about the various things he enjoyed, in order to make it all seem authentic. But he had already decided that they were sincere. The shock in Raphael's eyes upon seeing him and realizing that Valon did not know him had been genuine. And Alister had seemed stunned as well. 

He sank onto the bed, gazing blankly at the floor. Everything was so confusing. These people seemed so kind, unlike Rocky or his gang members. Valon found that he wished it were true, that he lived here and that it was his true home, instead of the old garage.

_If I don't go back soon, Rocky'll wonder what happened,_ the boy thought to himself, _ and maybe he'll go checkin' around the area to see if I'm there. I don't think he really cares about me, though. He just doesn't seem like the kinda guy who cares about anyone, really. I wonder if Rambo's got it right, though—that Rocky wants to make me his right-hand man. If he doesn't get the chance, he'll probably get pretty ticked off. I don't really want anything to happen to these fellas, whether I really know them or not._

Sensing a shadow in the doorway, he looked up to see Raphael there. He blinked, but was not actually surprised.

"Does anything look familiar?" the blonde asked. As Valon studied him, he decided that the older man could easily overpower Rocky or Rambo, if he wished. But if they both attacked him at once, Valon was not certain what the outcome of that would be.

The Australian shook his head. "Naw, not really," he admitted. "It's interesting, though—there's Linkin Park albums." He nodded toward the CD cases and then stretched out on the bed, placing his arms behind his head.

Raphael sighed, remaining in the doorway as he watched the boy. "What's this gang like?" he asked, hoping to be able to have a conversation with his friend—and to know what kind of people he had been staying with for the past two months.

Valon shrugged. "Oh, y'know . . . they're like a gang," he said helplessly. "There's five other members, and I guess they're kinda like a family unit. Rocky's the leader. He doesn't like the gang members to fight each other and stuff, but that's probably just 'cause he doesn't want any of them to off anyone else so that he'll have to look for a replacement. I don't think he really cares for the sake of caring. Rambo's his right-hand man, and he's even meaner than Rocky himself. Then there's Angel, Rocky's unfaithful girlfriend, and Thorn, who's Rambo's sheila. Angel's a big flirt, but Thorn's a tomboy. Oh yeah . . . and then there's André. He's the mechanic . . . kinda wimpy, too. I dunno why Rocky let him in." Somehow it just felt so natural for him to be talking to Raphael that he did not even think about it until after he had told him about all the gang members. Then he frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"What's their purpose?" Raphael queried now. "Are they vandals, or thieves, or what?" He hated the fact that Valon had gotten mixed up with any kind of criminals, especially when he did not remember anything. And yet he had noticed how relaxed the Australian had seemed, when talking to him just now. Raphael had to hope that subconsciously Valon remembered.

"A little of both, I guess," Valon answered after a pause, "but Rocky says they're revolutionaries. I dunno . . . maybe he's hoping to change stuff, like the way the city runs and that kinda thing." He sat up again, glaring suspiciously at Raphael. "But what's with all the questions?" he demanded. "Are you tryin' to get them stuck in jail?" Valon had a phobia of jails and prisons, though he did not know why. It seemed to him that he despised them more than most other people did.

Raphael ran a hand through his hair. "I just want to know how your life's been recently," he replied quietly. "I imagine you've been participating in their crimes?" He felt sick thinking of it. The last thing he ever wanted was for Valon to have to go to jail. He knew why the Australian had such a loathing of such places, and he worried about what would happen to the boy if he had to go back again. Somehow he doubted that Valon would be allowed to go free just because he had not remembered anything during the time he had been a member of the gang.

Valon idly played with the cover and pages of a manga that had been on his bed. "Actually, Rocky mostly keeps me around for gang wars and stuff," he said. "He likes me to fight with the rival gang members." Usually it was Rocky and Thorn who did the vandalizing, and Rambo and Angel who did the stealing. André's job was to run the garage and keep their vehicles in order. But Valon saw no need to tell Raphael all about each person's role, even though he realized that he held very little loyalty towards them or their cause. If he had found somewhere else to go ages before, he would have left then. He was wondering if he had now found that somewhere else.

Raphael nodded slowly, feeling himself relaxing just slightly. "I noticed," he commented, "that you refer to the gang as 'they,' not as 'we,' even though you're a part of it." This gave him hope as well. It said to him that Valon did not actually like being part of it and perhaps did not consider himself as a member, even if only unconsciously.

Valon grunted. "Eh," was all that he offered in response to that. But he had noticed it himself. And he realized anew just how out of place he felt in the gang.

Raphael could see that he would get nowhere by pursuing that line of questioning. "What do you think of things here?" he asked now.

The boy blinked up at him. "It's nice enough, I guess," he said with another shrug. "It's kinda cozy and all. And you seem like a good fella. That Alister, though, he's kinda weird. I mean, look at how he dresses!" He gestured wildly with his hands.

Raphael groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The last thing he wanted to do was to see repeats of all of Alister and Valon's disagreements. Listening to them so many times before—and having to break them up—had wearied him. "If you think he's so weird," he said finally, "how on earth did he ever get you to come home with him?"

Valon opened his mouth to retort, but then let the question actually sink in. "I dunno," he muttered. "Just crazy, I guess."

* * *

Marik let out an exasperated sigh as he and his siblings at last managed to get into the taxi cab that was waiting at the airport. It was true that they had been delayed for some time due to several Baby Dragons that had decided to make the terminal their home, but the Egyptian boy supposed that it could have been worse. Though having the telephone disconnected and then being chased by a playful, fire-spitting dragon was plenty bad. He ran a hair through his hair.

"Oh for Heaven's sake," he muttered, suddenly recalling how he had been talking to Yugi when the phone's cord had been severed by the Baby Dragon. The multi-color haired boy must be quite worried, and with good enough reason.

"What is it, my brother?" Ishizu asked, turning to look at him with concern. She was thankful as well that getting out of the airport had not been as hectic as getting to the airport in the first place. Still she wondered what had happened to the Cyber Commander and the Marauding Captain who had been flying the air craft. They could have remained important allies if they had stayed around after the plane had been landed.

"I just remembered that I haven't called Yugi back," Marik informed her and Rishid. "Knowing him, he's probably on his way to the airport now to find out what's wrong."

Rishid sighed, shaking his head. "It would be better and safer for him to remain home," he mused. "Perhaps we can find a telephone booth and you can call him from there. It is unfortunate that there are not telephones in this taxi."

Marik rubbed his eyes, sighing again. It all seemed like such a hopeless disaster. How, he wondered, would any of this possibly be resolved without the aid of the Pharaoh or the Millennium Items? It was probably magic that had pulled open the gate between the dimensions. Marik saw no way to remove the monsters and close the gate again without the aid of some kind of magic. They did not even know where such a gate was.

"It's lucky I was able to get through at all," he realized, recalling how they had previously been unable to contact Yugi. "It seems that the phone lines aren't all down after all." But some of them definitely were. Just up ahead, he could see a Giant Soldier of Stone sending a telephone pole to the ground. The taxi driver cursed, quickly swerving to the right to drive down a side street.

"They might as well be," the man growled. "This town's a wreck! Heck, the whole world's a wreck from this crazy stuff, but it seems like it's even worse here. I've been watching the news, and Professor Hawkins thinks that the monsters are all coming from somewhere near here! How come we always get the weird stuff?" He said this last part mostly to himself, but the Ishtars were not listening, especially not Ishizu. She was most interested in his previous statement.

"Professor Hawkins believes this?" she questioned, looking at the driver firmly. She wanted to make certain that she had not misheard him.

"Yeah, you know, Arthur Hawkins," the driver shrugged, turning the next corner. "He's a famous guy. He's pretty renowned all over the place."

"Ishizu knows who he is," Marik said irritably. "They've worked together sometimes, and sometimes the archaeologist James Bakura joins them."

Ishizu gently laid a hand on Marik's shoulder to shush him. "Is Professor Hawkins in town right now?" she wanted to know. If he was, then it could be vitally important for her to speak with him. She needed to know why he was theorizing that the Duel Monsters were originating here in Domino City. It was true that it was something she and her brothers had wondered about, but now there was the chance to possibly acquire proof.

"Yeah, he just got in the other day," was the reply. "He brought his granddaughter with him. She's pretty famous too, actually—a Duel Monsters prodigy. Well, the game Duel Monsters, not the creatures themselves." He smirked at his own joke. "And she's been taking courses at the university. Wow, I mean, she's no ordinary teenager."

"Rebecca Hawkins?" Marik muttered, crossing his arms and not bothering at the moment to see the irony of the man's last remark. "Oh joy." He had heard things about her from the news and from some of Yugi's friends, and he had gathered that Rebecca was probably quite self-centered and overly proud of her abilities. People such as her generally were like that, Marik felt, and he was not looking forward to the meeting that would probably happen between him and her, if Ishizu went to speak with the professor. He had considered it a blessing that he had not met her yet.

"I think they're staying at the Hilton hotel uptown," the driver said now, trying to be helpful.

"Thank you," Ishizu smiled, leaning back in her seat. Once they got back to the home they owned in the city, and after a good night's rest, she would have to contact him. If this problem could not be solved soon, she feared that the entire world would be left in ruins.

* * *

Ryou was just settling down with a book when he heard a knock at the door. Confused, he got up and went over, looking through the peephole. To his amazement, he found Téa standing out on the porch. Quickly he opened the door. 

"Téa!" he exclaimed. "Oh my . . . this is a surprise." He smiled shyly and in bewilderment, holding the edge of the door with one hand for a moment before inviting her inside. But his smile soon disappeared as he heard the explanation for the girl's late visit.

"Hi, Bakura," she greeted him worriedly, pulling her light jacket closer around herself. Even though "Ryou" was actually his first name, all of his friends called him "Bakura," and he actually preferred that. He was not extremely fond of his first name. "You haven't seen Tristan lately, have you?"

Ryou's eyes widened in surprise. "Why, no," he answered. "I haven't seen him since school ended. What's wrong? Is he missing?" Oreo winded between his legs, meowing loudly and wanting attention.

Téa ran a hand through her bangs. "I don't know," she said helplessly, "but there's been all kinds of trouble going on. Joey and Serenity's mother got kidnapped by the Duel Monsters, and Yugi's been trying to find a way to contact the Dark Magician Girl that he helped during those problems with Doom." Ryou nodded, even though he did not know much about the Doom organization or the problems it had caused, save for what Téa and others had told him later. "He hasn't had any luck yet, and he started calling everyone else to find out if anyone had seen Ms. Kawai. He got hold of me, but there wasn't any answer at Tristan's place or yours!"

Ryou scratched his cheek. "Yes, well, the phone's actually been out here," he explained. "I think all the telephones on the street are down. Perhaps a telephone pole was knocked over or some such thing." He bit his lip. "Have you been to Tristan's house yet?"

"Yugi's checking there now," Téa answered. "He wanted to go to the airport because Marik called him from there and they got cut off, but Marik called back just a few minutes ago and said that everything was okay." She played absentmindedly with the Kuriboh decoration on her cell phone as she spoke. All of these problems that they were going through right now were bothering her immensely. She just wished they would stop before someone got seriously hurt . . . if that had not happened already.

Now Ryou was even further surprised. "Marik's back in Domino?" he cried in astonishment. "But I thought he and the others needed to stay in Egypt for a while longer." Oreo meowed again, more insistently, and finally Ryou picked her up, stroking her soft fur.

"Yeah, that's what we all thought," Téa said, shaking her head. "Marik said they came back to try to help us get rid of all the Duel Monsters." At that moment her phone rang and she quickly held it to her ear. "Hello? Yugi?" she asked hopefully. Ryou could hear the short boy's voice coming through the phone.

"Yeah, Téa, it's me. I'm at Tristan's house, but he isn't here! His parents don't know where he is. They said he left shortly after dinner and they haven't heard from him since!" Yugi swallowed hard, feeling very worried and nervous. For one of them to vanish at any time was a worry, but for it to happen right now was even worse. The bad Duel Monsters could have attacked him and even severely injured him, which was what had happened to Alister and Raphael two months previous. Or maybe . . . maybe even it was worse than Tristan just being injured. . . . Yugi forced himself not to think of that.

Téa felt her hopes shatter. "Oh no!" she moaned.

"I'm really worried," Yugi admitted softly. "But what about Bakura? Is he okay?"

Téa was relieved that she could report the good news that he was. After telling Yugi that she and Ryou would be right over, she quickly hung up.

Suddenly realizing something, Ryou stared at her in shock. "Surely you didn't walk here, Téa?" he exclaimed. "It's so dangerous to do that here, especially after dark!" In his mind he worried over what could have happened to Tristan. He was thinking things along the same lines as Yugi had. And something terrible could have happened to Téa as well, especially if she had walked.

"No," she reassured him, "Mr. Muto brought me over in his truck. Yugi went with Joey and Serenity in Joey's . . . car," she finally finished after a hesitation. The blonde boy's jalopy was such a wreck that it seemed laughable to actually address it as a car.

Ryou did not seem to notice her hesitation. "Well, that's good," he smiled. "Let's go hunt for Tristan!" He opened the door, still holding Oreo over his opposite shoulder.

Téa followed. "It's probably a good idea to bring her with us," she said. "We don't know what might happen to her all alone here at home." Ryou concurred.

* * *

While all of these events were going on, a muscular, purple-haired gang leader seemed to slip by unnoticed. He went directly to the rented home where he had been instructed to visit once he had something of worth to report, and knocked three times on the door—one long tap, one short tap, one long tap—the signal. After a moment the door was opened slightly. 

"Are you sure you weren't followed?" the woman demanded. The man appeared behind her, watching their guest suspiciously.

"'Course not," was the growled response as the young man tossed his hair away from his eye. "If anyone had been followin' me, they'd be dead now anyway." Without waiting to be invited in, he pushed his way in through the partially open door and then slammed it shut behind him.

"Well?" the man asked coldly. "What news have you brought?" He did not approve of his wife's idea to hire such scum to accomplish their mission, but since it had been done, there was not much he could do about it, save to hope that the mercenary knew what he was doing.

"The kid I've been looking after didn't come home yet." An amber eye flashed in annoyance. "I sent him on a mission, but he's takin' too long."

"What kind of mission?" came the indignant demand. "You were supposed to make sure nothing happened to him. We need him!"

"Yeah, yeah, you'll get him," the mercenary snapped. "He was at the place I sent him to, but he left after that. His motorcycle's gone, but I saw where it had been. And I saw that another motorcycle was there too. They must've left together. Don't worry. I've got the gang combing the whole city. We'll find him, and he'll be in trouble when we do," he hissed to himself.

"Just bring him here!" the woman ordered. "Forget about your punishments or whatever! We want him here as soon as you do find him. Your toying around with things has gone far enough!"

"I daresay you have an agenda of your own that's different from ours," the man added with a frown. "You know the boy can't stay in your gang."

"Whatever. Just don't mess with me, Pops, and everything'll go fine." With that the gang leader turned and left in annoyance, slamming the door behind him with a bang.


	6. The Dead

**Chapter Six**

While all of these disasters were taking place, no one actually knew why many of the Duel Monsters were rising up against them the way that they had. The Dark Magician Girl that Yugi and Atemu had befriended in the past had said that the two worlds had originally lived in harmony and peace, so now that the barrier had been broken, it seemed strange that the creatures appeared to be vicious. Even during Doom, their invasion of the world had seemed harmless. They had merely wandered about, fascinated by the modern buildings and the people. But that was decidedly not the case this time. Raphael and Alister had wondered several times if Doom Reborn was responsible for what had happened, but even if that mysterious organization had set them loose, why would that have caused them to turn against humanity?

After thinking on it further, Raphael had come to a possible conclusion that Doom Reborn was controlling the beasts in some way—yet he honestly did not see how that would have happened. Surely the Duel Monsters would be stronger than to let humans determine their every move. And Doom Reborn, save for its mysterious leader, did not seem all that powerful as of yet. If the organization had everything it needed, after all, there would be no need to bother Raphael and his friends to get information from them. Raphael could not have imagined the full truth of the situation.

* * *

Alister was sitting in the window seat in the living room when Raphael went back downstairs after talking with Valon. The blonde man sighed, seeing Alister's far-off expression. Everything that had occurred in the past few hours had come as an extreme shock to both of them. Alister had been the one to find Valon and bring him home, and Raphael was somewhat amazed that the redhead had actually succeeded. Valon was headstrong and stubborn, and it seemed that with amnesia he was back to thinking of Alister in the way he had when they had first met. Raphael had to wonder what was different this time around, unless it was the subconscious memories of the friendship the three of them had. 

"It's interesting, how things happen," Alister spoke abruptly. He had known that Raphael had entered the room, though he had not given any indication of that.

Raphael sighed, sitting down. "It is," he agreed, "but what are you referring to?"

Alister continued to gaze out at the night sky as he spoke. "We thought Valon might be dead for these past two months," he answered, "and right before his accident, he had believed the same about us. Now, in a way, Valon is dead . . . and we might as well be, to him. He doesn't remember us, and I doubt he's going to want to stay here."

Raphael was silent for a while before answering. "Maybe," he said at last. "When I talked to him, though, he acted as though he likes it here—and that he likes us—more than he's willing to admit. I'm sure he's still somewhat wary, but I don't think he wants to leave all that much." He could see how frustrated Alister was about everything, and how melancholy the younger man was as well. Alister would most likely always be aloof and cold to an extent, but that did not change his caring for Raphael and Valon. He had been just as sad and distraught over Valon being gone in the past two months as Raphael had been. Though he had not said so in words, Raphael had known it from his actions. He had grown even more quiet, withdrawing into himself—the way he had been when they had first met during Doom. His ventures out of the house had become more frequent, and when he had stayed in his room he often did not come out for hours. Now, with the fact that Valon did not remember them, Raphael was reminded all the more of the way things had been during the first weeks after they all had met.

"Heh. Well, I imagine we'll soon see," Alister responded, leaning back against the wall.

"Yes," Raphael agreed, "we will." He laid his hand gently on Alister's shoulder. The redhead started at first, but then relaxed again, not minding the contact the way he might have in the past. _Maybe,_ Raphael decided, _not _everything_ is the same as when we first met._

* * *

The ride to the Taylor home was mostly silent at first, until Ryou ventured a cautious question. "How has Tristan been doing lately?" he inquired of Téa, looking over at her. The truck ran over a bump, startling them both and causing Oreo to hide in the British boy's shirt. Solomon muttered to himself, deciding that he needed to have the vehicle's shocks examined.

Téa bit her lip. "Well . . . you know how upset he was a few months ago, before this invasion even happened," she said slowly. The events she was referring to were not something that any of them discussed often, as it made all of them feel very uncomfortable, but the fact was that Duke Devlin had been killed almost exactly three months previous. He had been beaten to death by an unknown group of people and then found by Yugi, who he had managed to give a warning to before dying—that the gang was angry with all of them for stopping the original Doom organization and that now they were killing all who had been involved. Tristan had been stunned and upset, even more so because of the fact that he had been the last person who had seen Duke before that had happened and they had quarreled.

Ryou nodded slowly. "Of all of us, I believe he was the closest to Duke," he said quietly, petting Oreo as she poked her head out of the collar of his shirt. He himself had not known the dice master that well, but he had been stunned at the news of his death. Naturally it was a shocking turn of events. Duke had been young—only a year or so older than the rest of them. To think of people being so ruthless as to murder those still in their teenage years made Ryou shudder in horror.

Téa sighed. "Actually, I don't think any of us really knew him at all," she remarked. Ryou turned to her questioningly. The girl sighed. "Yugi says that a lot, and he made me realize that it's probably true. Duke always came off as worldly and superficial. He would flirt with the girls, act obnoxious, and just really seemed to think that he was great. But he was still our friend." She looked down at her hands. "I realized that he never did let any of us get very close to him. If one of us asked him a question about him or his life, he'd give a short answer and shrug it off. And he rarely ever hung out with us. He always seemed to stay back, as if he thought he didn't really fit in."

Ryou frowned, thinking about this. As he recalled the few times he had met Duke, he discovered that Téa seemed to be correct in her assessment. The raven-haired boy had always been somewhat distant, though he had been friendly enough and a bit of a womanizer. Sometimes Ryou had gotten the feeling that the other teenager's conceited behavior was just an act. "I haven't really seen Tristan lately at all," he spoke again, in a half-apologetic tone. "I know I should have. . . . I just was never certain what to say. I tried to speak to him once, but he snapped at me." He sighed, glancing out the window and watching a Celtic Guardian saunter down the street.

"I don't think he's ever really gotten over what happened," Téa told him seriously, "especially since he had gotten into that argument with Duke right before . . ." She trailed off with a sigh. "He's been hanging out with Yugi, Joey, and me a lot less. I don't really know what's happened to him now." Ryou could see how sad she looked, and his heart went out to her. "It feels like . . . that I don't know _him_ any more, either."

"Téa. . . ." He looked at her for another moment before self-consciously laying his hand on her shoulder. Though he himself did not feel as close to Téa or to the others as Yugi did, he still thought of her as a friend. But it still seemed to him that the bond between the original four friends—Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Téa—was not something easily broken or penetrated by others. It was not that they were consciously or unconsciously trying to exclude anyone, but simply that they had been through the misadventures right from the start and that they were extremely close to each other because of that. Ryou could understand that, though he wished sometimes that he had someone who was that close to him.

Téa started, but then looked over at him and tried to smile. "I know I shouldn't be talking like this," she berated. "I still believe in Tristan, and I know we're going to find him. I just wish that I knew some way I could help him. . . ." The truck stopped and she realized that they had arrived at their destination. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she had not realized at first.

Ryou smiled sadly as he opened the door. "Sometimes," he said, speaking from past experience, "there's nothing that can be done. Sometimes all you can do is just be there."

Téa nodded slowly, knowing that he was right.

* * *

Seto glanced over at Mokuba, who was still curled up on the couch. He quickly realized that his younger brother was sound asleep. The businessman smiled slightly and stood up from his desk, laying his coat over Mokuba as a blanket. The child mumbled, snuggling under it. Seto ruffled Mokuba's hair slightly before returning to his chair. 

He gave a sigh as he looked out the window at the sky over the property. A Thousand Dragon was flying past the moon as it peeked from behind a cloud, becoming silhouetted against it. Mokuba was right to be worried over what they were going to do about this disaster, but he still did not know what could be done. He honestly felt that the best thing he could do was to continue living his life as he had been. He could not stop the beasts from rampaging the city, but if it came to where they were going to go after his company and his brother, he would fight.

When the phone abruptly rang, he frowned at it suspiciously before picking it up. It was going on for past midnight; who would be calling at this late hour? "Kaiba," he snapped, glancing at Mokuba to make certain that he was still asleep. The child stirred, rolling over, but pulled the coat closer around himself and did not awake.

"Well, you're as cordial as ever," a dry voice announced. It was muffled, as if the speaker had placed a cloth over the speaker.

Seto's expression of annoyance only deepened. "Who is this?" he demanded. "If it's you, Pegasus, then I don't need to be bothered with your trivial games."

"No, hardly." There was a matching sound of annoyance on the other end of the line. "It isn't Pegasus, but it really doesn't matter who it is. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is the fact that you may have an old enemy returning—one that will want your company, among other things."

Seto was tired of cryptic conversation. He stood up, his eyes narrowed darkly. "Look, whoever you are, I want some better answers than this! What makes you think an old enemy is coming back? And who is it?" At this point, he was still certain that this was some sort of a crank call. He could not think of any enemies that would be returning and wanting his company, unless it was Pegasus up to his old tricks. _That's all I need!_ he thought to himself in disgust.

"I don't have any concrete answers yet," came the equally irritated reply. "But you're an intelligent sort of person. Try figuring out the answers yourself. After all, it doesn't take much to put the puzzle pieces together, if you know where to look. There is a clue in the newspaper that you should take stock in. What's more, there are several people in this city who may know something about what is taking place." There was a pause. "But one thing you can't do, Kaiba, is to assume that the one behind things this time around is the same one from before. The organization may be the same, but not the person." With that final mysterious statement, the telephone was hung up and Seto heard only a dial tone.

Frustrated, he nearly slammed the phone down as he placed it back in its cradle, then glanced to the newspaper on the edge of his desk. The stranger's words had definitely aroused his suspicions—and curiosities. Slowly he reached for the paper and spread it open, scanning through until he discovered what must have been the story referred to. He clutched the edges of the sheets, nearly crushing them in his hands.

"So, we're going to play this game again?" he muttered. "Well, just wait. You won't get hold of my company again this time."

He was so incensed that for the moment he forgot the person's other words of advice.

* * *

Dartz hung up the telephone with a sigh, brushing the turquoise locks out of his golden eyes. "Under normal circumstances, I never would have called you," he spoke low in the desolation of the area. "But I'll be much too preoccupied with my own business to bother rescuing yours, if they take it over. At least if you can handle that much, it will save me the trouble of chasing those fools down. They've already caused enough trouble, wouldn't you say?" He glanced up to the dragons roaring overhead as he stepped out of the telephone booth. 

The former king of Atlantis had learned much in the last few hours. After discovering the article concerning the rebuilding of the Paradius building, he had investigated around town and found that a branch of the company was secretly operating in a skyscraper that had been abandoned after an extensive fire several months previous. The cause of the fire was still unknown, and the businesses that had once been in the building had moved elsewhere, finding it cheaper to buy a new location rather than repairing the old one.

_It's rather interesting,_ he noted, _that the Duel Monsters are continually flying and walking over there._ He had observed several doing so recently, and indeed, that was how he had come upon the building in the first place. _There must be a connection between them and this . . . new version of Paradius._ He intended to thoroughly investigate all angles of this mystery. More and more, he was realizing that the possibility of a new Doom organization must be the truth. And he was highly displeased.

_I will see to it that you're stopped . . . somehow,_ he said silently as he headed back toward the building. _But what I wonder now is, Have you started taking souls yet?_

* * *

Serenity paced the floor of Tristan's home nervously, her heart racing. So much was happening this night—first her and Joey's mother had been taken, and now this with Tristan! And what was more, she could not forget how Duke Devlin had died those three months earlier.

She had been heartbroken when Joey had come to her and quietly told her the news. Even though she had known something like this would surely happen some day, she had not truly wanted to believe it would. She remembered how she had cried for hours, thinking of Duke being beaten until he no longer had the strength to fight back. She hated the thought that he was deliberately killed even more than if it had been an accident. And the warning he had given had frightened her extremely. If the culprits who had done that wanted everyone involved, then they would target Joey as well, among others.

Actually, she reflected, it seemed strange that after Duke's death there had not been any other attacks. Why was that? And why would they have started with Duke? True, he had been involved during the Doom incident, but not as much as some others had been.

Then she gasped. What if Tristan's disappearance was the next disaster? Perhaps they had wanted to wait long enough that everyone would get confused, and then they would strike again! She had to grip a nearby chair to steady herself.

Joey blinked, seeing Serenity's stricken expression. "Hey," he said, coming over to her, "what is it, sis?" He tried to grin. "We'll find Tristan before long. He . . . he probably just went out for a motorcycle ride or somethin'. . . ." He knew he did not sound convincing, but he did not want Serenity to see how worried he actually was. Serenity already had enough on her mind.

Serenity shook her head. "Joey," she whispered, looking up at him with panic-stricken eyes, "what if those terrible people who killed Duke are coming after Tristan now?" Quickly she explained her thoughts of the past moment, while Joey stared at her in complete and stunned shock.

"Man!" he yelled when she was done. "I never even thought of that!" He clenched a fist, hurrying to relay the theory to Yugi in the kitchen. If Serenity was right—and it did seem possible—then they had to find Tristan immediately. Joey was not going to let Tristan be another victim. And he knew Yugi berated himself for not being able to save Duke. That could not happen again.

"Never thought of what?" Téa asked in confusion as she and Ryou were being let in just then by a distraught Mrs. Taylor.

Serenity looked up when she saw them and hurried over. "It's just awful!" she declared, her hazel eyes filling with tears. "I just thought of something awful, and I don't want it to be true, but I . . . I'm afraid it is, Téa!"

"What on earth is it?" Ryou exclaimed, his eyes widening.

Neither of them were pleased at what Serenity had to say, but they both agreed that it was possible. After consulting with the others and trying to reassure Tristan's mother, the five teenagers determined that they should search all over Domino immediately, including the spot where Duke was killed. Yugi could not help wishing again that Atemu was here to assist them.

_I just hope we'll find Tristan in time,_ the boy said silently. _We have to!_ Joey was right—Yugi was not willing in the least to let another friend die. They were going to save Tristan . . . somehow.

If it was not already too late.

* * *

He woke up feeling himself being kicked in the ribs, followed by a dark, heartless laugh. At first his fogged mind could not place it, but when he realized whose voice possessed such a laugh, his blood ran completely cold. 

_No, _he thought to himself, still attempting to return fully to consciousness. _That can't be . . . he wouldn't. . . . Oh man . . . what the heck happened to me, anyway?_ The last thing he remembered was how he had been riding his motorcycle all over town, angry and trying to sort things out in his mind. A sharp curve had come up, he had gone around it, and he remembered no more after that.

_Maybe I'm dead or something,_ he mused, but then decided that was not the answer. Surely dead people did not feel such pain. His whole body ached, most likely from the result of whatever sort of crash he had been involved in. _Aw man . . . my bike's probably totalled!_ he berated before being kicked again.

He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him as he struggled to open his eyes. It seemed to be dark all around him, but abruptly a spotlight came on directly over the person who had kicked him. Squinting, he forced himself to look up and past the shoulder-length raven hair to see the entity's face.

"Okay," he growled, pulling himself into a kneeling position, "who are you and why do you keep kicking me?" He narrowed his eyes, reaching up to grab at the person's clothes. He tried to ignore his muscles screaming in protest as he did so. "You sounded really familiar when you laughed, and if it wasn't that it was impossible, I'd say you had to be a guy I knew. But since he's dead, you can't be him." He glared. "And he wouldn't be acting like this anyway."

A smirk was his reply as the other boy began twirling a piece of dark hair around his finger. "You're right, Tristan," he said, spitting the name out as if he hated the taste of it, "I couldn't be him. I'm not him. Well, anyway—not the one you knew." He stepped closer, flipping the extraordinarily wavy piece of hair away from his face and more clearly revealing his bright red eyes. The Seal of Orichalcos glowed firmly on his forehead.

Tristan swallowed hard, feeling dizzy again—and this time not entirely from his injuries. "What are you talking about?" he cried harshly. "And what's with the Seal? We got rid of the Orichalcos and Doom when the Pharaoh defeated Dartz!"

"Oh come on. Haven't you ever heard that old nightmares always come back to haunt you?" The raven-haired boy bent down to Tristan's eye level. "I used to be known as Duke Devlin. But that was in another lifetime. I'm not him anymore, Tristan."

Tristan forced himself to hold still, unwavering under the cruel eyes. This was too much to suddenly wake up to. This person was claiming that he once was Duke—but he could not have been. They had _buried_ Duke. Tristan had seen the body before the casket had been closed at the quiet graveyard service they had held. He had been bruised horrifically and lacerated in many places. This person seemed to be in perfect health. Of course, three months had passed, but bodies simply did not come out of the grave and be healed.

And Tristan had also never even seen Duke wearing his hair out of the ponytail, he realized. He could not imagine Duke switching to the style it was in now, flying freely over his shoulders. It just did not seem like him. But the die was hanging from his left ear, and the punkish mark graced his left cheek. Even his clothes and armbands were Duke's.

But Tristan clenched his fists. He knew this was not truly his friend. Duke did not act like this. Tristan refused to believe that what he was being told was the truth. Duke would not get involved with the Orichalcos. He had been beaten to death by a gang angry at him and the others for halting the original Doom, and he had warned Yugi of it before passing away. "You're lying!" he yelled, furious that his friend was being mocked like this. "What kinda sick person are you!" He would continue to believe that Duke was dead and that this person was a double sent by their enemies to torment him. It was better to believe that Duke was dead than that he was alive and like this. "Duke was my buddy. Sure, we had some disagreements, but that doesn't mean we weren't friends!" _I never even told him I was sorry. . . ._

The young man claiming that he was formerly known as Duke straightened up. "I'm a servant of the Orichalcos," he announced. "Doom hasn't died, and neither has Dartz's ideal. I'm helping to bring it to life." He smirked. "I arranged for my associates to bring you here, Tristan, because you're going to help too—whether you want to or not." He tossed his hair over his shoulder. "Frankly, I don't care that you and I used to be friends. That's in another lifetime too. You're just going to have to learn to accept it."

Tristan could only glare at him in reply, too angry for words. At last he forced himself to stand up, wincing as he did so. "Duke wouldn't be happy if he knew what you're trying to do," he said darkly.

The other boy laughed in Duke's voice and Tristan was chilled at the maniacal sound. "You know, he really doesn't care," he answered. "I'm all that's left of him."


	7. The Memories

**Chapter Seven**

_The entity struggled desperately, trying with all its might to extricate itself from the bubble it had found itself in. It clawed viciously at the substance, looking terrified, and then tried in vain to spread open what appeared to be two shadowy wings on its back—but there was not enough room to accomplish this and it finally had to concede defeat._

"_Where am I? Please, let me out! Where did you go? Why am I here all alone? I don't want to be alone! I've never been alone before. . . . Why now? WHY NOW?"_

_It continued to cry out pitifully, banging against the bubble until it realized it was no use. There was no one around to help it. Upon realizing this, it curled up in a tight ball, wrapping its wings around itself and weeping softly._

Alister gasped, startling himself awake and falling out of the windowseat to land with a loud and unceremonious crash on the carpeted floor. Slowly he tried to get his bearings, focusing on the room and its furnishings as he became more acquainted with being awake. At last he pulled himself into a sitting position, his heart still racing wildly. It had only been a dream, but it had felt so _real_. He had felt as if he knew the being trapped within the bubble, even though he knew that he actually did not.

"What was that?" he muttered to himself. "That's not like any dream I've had before."

He thought back on the creature he had only vaguely seen. It seemed to be humanoid, and the voice had sounded soft, yet masculine, but beyond that he had not been able to see many of its features. One thing he was certain of was that it had been frightened. But who it was calling out to, and why it was in a bubble, were mysteries.

Though . . . after souls were captured, and held in a holding area for a certain period of time, they were sent into another realm—a realm of bubbles, where they would be fed to the Leviathan. Alister remembered that from when he and the others had been victims during the original Doom era. What if the being in his dream was being held prisoner in that way? Though that still did not explain who it was, nor why Alister was dreaming about it—him.

He wished that the practice of souls being captured was simply a thing of the past. But with Doom Reborn around, he knew that anything was possible. He and the others had not heard anything concerning the organization for months, though he wondered, as did others, if they were responsible for the Duel Monsters that had been unleashed around the world. It did seem like a possibility that should not be ignored. Unfortunately, since there had been no trace of Doom Reborn anywhere, Alister did not know where to look to find answers. He could not know what Dartz had discovered, about the makeshift location for Paradius. As far as he was aware, the business had not returned as of yet, since they had not finished rebuilding the skyscraper in San Francisco.

He looked up when a shadow fell over him. Valon was standing there, looking confused. "What the heck was that all about?" he demanded. The brunette boy did not admit it, but he had been worried wondering if Rocky had broken in when he had heard the crash. Part of him, perhaps, felt slightly annoyed that he had been startled out of his reverie for a small household accident. Alister seemed to be alright, though he did look somewhat stunned and still half-asleep.

Alister grunted. "I fell down," he said flatly, momentarily forgetting in his dazed state that Valon did not remember things. It was wonderful to have him back . . . and yet, he was not truly back. He would not be until he did think of them as his friends again and recalled what they had been through.

Valon rolled his eyes. "Kinda clumsy, aren't you, mate."

Alister chose not to answer, instead pulling himself up onto the windowseat again and rubbing at his sore ankle. "Actually," he said finally, "I was asleep when it happened."

"Though," Raphael said, appearing in the doorway after overhearing the last part of the conversation, "he did get hurt in an accident the other day, when he was looking for you. His motorcycle overturned on him when a Dark Clown stepped right into the road and he had to struggle to avoid it. That's why his ankle is bothering him, just so you know." He knew that Alister would have never told Valon of that incident on his own, but Raphael had decided that it should be mentioned. He was already tired of hearing the two of them come to blows, and Valon had only been home for several hours.

Valon blinked in surprise, looking to Alister again as the redhead stretched his injured leg out on a small throw pillow. "I . . . I didn't know that," he said, seeming to be subdued for the moment. "Sorry. . . ." _Yeah . . . they've gotta be on the level, _he decided firmly, not wanting to change his mind again. He could not deny how at home he felt there, with them. _I just wish I could remember them, for cryin' out loud!_

Alister leaned back against the wall. "Don't worry about it," he responded wearily.

* * *

Rocky was undeniably angry. He and the other members of the gang had searched all around the mansion and the surrounding area, and there had been no further signs of Valon. Now he had come back to where the motorcycle tracks were and was studying them. 

"Hmm . . . they're parallel with each other," he muttered, "so one wasn't followin' the other. They left together." He growled. "What's that moron up to? I've got a lot of dough riding on this." Slowly he reached into his pocket, pulling out the tattered wallet in which he kept hidden Valon's identification card. He looked over it sharply, pondering on what these strange occurrences could mean, and then narrowed his eyes.

_Maybe he's been playin' me for a sap all this time,_ he thought, _and he's really been spying on me! Maybe he's a lot smarter than I gave him credit for, and now he's havin' a rendezvous with his boss!_

His crimson eye flashed with rage. No one ever played Rocky for a sap and got away with it. And yet he knew how genuinely clueless Valon had seemed when he had first regained consciousness. It had certainly seemed as though he was not faking his amnesia. But perhaps later on he had been approached by someone who wanted Valon to spy on the gang, and so he had agreed. Rocky was aware that Valon was not happy there and that he wanted to leave. He knew that the boy was smart enough not to trust any of them, even though the gang leader doubted that Valon knew that Rocky knew his real identity. If Valon had known that, Rocky was certain that he would have come to him, demanding answers.

"What's goin' on, Rocky baby?"

He turned at the sound of Angel's sultry voice. The blonde smiled, studying him and looking amused by how annoyed he looked. Then she moved closer, reaching to massage his shoulders. He let her, still glaring down at Valon's I.D. card before coming back to himself and quickly putting it away before she could get a clear view of it.

"Whoever the Aussie left with, they must've been pretty chummy," Rocky told her, indicating the tire marks in the dirt. "I wanna find out who it was and why they went off together."

Angel smirked. "Maybe he found some biker girl he liked," she suggested. "I'm sure he'll be back soon. Anyway, the house is vacant. We can start movin' in tomorrow night, just like we planned." She found that she was not that concerned about Valon's location. She doubted that the boy would tell the police about them, so she was certain that he had just gone out for a bit of fun. It made little difference to her, since she did not truly care about him anyway, and since she did not have the monetary stake in his fate that Rocky did.

"Not until we find that little brat," Rocky snapped. "There's no tellin' what he's up to."

Angel shrugged. "He'll turn up sooner or later. Don't blow a gasket worryin' about him," she smiled, giving him a wink.

Rocky grunted in reply, decidedly unamused. Idly he wondered if it was at all possible that one of Valon's friends had found him. He supposed it was a possibility, but he did not know how Valon would react to Alister or Raphael when he did not remember them at all. Valon seemed aloof and obnoxious a lot of the time, and Rocky did not imagine that Valon would treat his former friends any differently than he treated the gang members. It seemed to Rocky that Valon would be distrusting of everyone. Still, he had to wonder. . . . It bore investigating.

* * *

Morning brought with it many exhausted, irritated, and worried people. Yugi, Joey, Téa, Ryou, Serenity, Mrs. Taylor, and Solomon had not succeeded in finding any clues to Tristan's and Mrs. Kawai's whereabouts. Rocky had staked out the bikers' home, but as their motorcycles had all been taken into the garage for the night, he had not been able to see if Valon's was amongst them. In complete annoyance, he had remained in his concealed position amid the bushes, waiting to see anything that would indicate that Valon was back with the other two. 

Marik had actually slept fairly well, relieved to be back in his own bed. But he was not looking forward to the meeting with Professor Hawkins that Ishizu had arranged. Around nine he had woken up hearing her conversing on the telephone with the man and scheduling a conference over lunch.

Marik wondered if he would prefer to skip it and to see how his friends were doing, instead. He had tried to call Yugi when they had finally returned home in the middle of the night, but he had only gotten an answering machine. After leaving a message, he had collapsed into bed and had instantly fallen asleep.

Now he sat up slowly, yawning as he ran a hand through his platinum blonde hair. The digital clock read 11 AM, but he was not that surprised. They had not even got home until it had been close to two, due to a road block caused by several Duel Monsters in the street. Then they had needed to unpack and spend a bit of time getting the house back in order—turning the water and gas on again and such. By the time Marik had actually laid down after having a quick shower, it had been around three.

He rubbed his eyes, muttering to himself as he threw the comforter back and stood up. He supposed he needed to see if Yugi had returned his call, and if not, he decided to simply drive over there. After the long and unusual airplane ride, he felt that bringing his motorcycle out would help him to relax. Slowly he reached for the navy blue tank top he had draped at the end of the bed and pulled it on.

As the Egyptian boy wandered out of his room and headed for the stairs, he noticed Rishid pondering in the living room. Curious, Marik went down the stairs and over to his brother, looking up at him and seeing how deep in thought he was. At last he spoke. "Rishid?"

The man started, brought out of whatever reverie he had been in. He smiled gently when he saw his younger brother. "Good morning," he greeted. "Did you sleep well?" He knew how tired Marik had been when they had finally walked through their door. Ishizu had been weary as well, but she had stayed up for a while after Marik had fallen asleep, thinking to herself about everything and desperately hoping that Professor Hawkins would have a possible solution to the worrisome problem. Rishid himself could not remember falling asleep, but he knew he had, as he had discovered not that long ago that he was waking up on the couch.

"Fairly," Marik answered, crossing his arms. "I guess Ishizu's going to speak with Professor Hawkins soon?"

Rishid nodded, not bothering to ask how Marik knew this. "She told me about the arranged meeting just a few minutes ago," he said. He was fervently hoping that if Ishizu and Professor Hawkins worked together, they would be able to figure out something that might help them. In addition, Rishid had thought over what he knew about the Paradius company and the original Doom organization. Ishizu was intrigued by how Duel Monsters had been set free during that time, and she was hoping to discover a connection between then and now. He also knew that she was hoping they could find where Dartz was staying.

Marik sighed. "I think I'll go see what's been happening with Yugi and the others," he announced then. "You don't know if he called back, do you, Rishid?"

Rishid shook his head. "I do not know, but I don't think he did," he replied. "The telephone is right here, and I am certain I would have woken up if it had rang." He gestured to where it was hanging on the wall behind the couch.

Marik glanced at it as well, then turned and headed back upstairs. "Well, I'm going to get dressed and then I'm leaving for a while," he said. "If I don't find Yugi or Mokuba at home, I'll probably just ride around the city for a while. Are you going to the meeting with Ishizu?"

Rishid pondered for a moment before answering. "I may," he replied.

Marik nodded as he reached the top of the stairs. A few moments later he returned to the main floor and called goodbye to Rishid as he headed out the door.

* * *

Tristan paced the floor of the room he was locked in, feeling edgy and nervous. "Duke," or whoever had been talking to him, had left a while earlier, leaving him locked in this small, windowless room. The only furniture in it was a broken-down cot and a rickety table. The walls were made of cement, but there was linoleum on the floor, though it was broken and cracked. There was a musty scent in the enclosed area, as if it was part of a basement. Tristan had felt along the walls, searching for a secret panel, and he had tried to break the door down, all to no avail.

"Man," he muttered in frustration and bewilderment as he sank onto the cot, "where the heck am I?" He could not think of anywhere in Domino that he had been to that fit the description of this cold, near-deserted place. There was not even the sound of traffic going by outside. Perhaps he was somewhere in the warehouse district, he decided. Or the walls could be heavily sound-proofed, though he could not imagine what the reason would be for doing such a thing. Maybe even both possibilities were what was the truth.

His thoughts turned back to the strange boy who had been there to greet him upon his awakening. _Duke . . . what happened to you, dude?_ he inwardly cried, utterly baffled by the experience. It could not truly have been Duke that he had seen, his logic told him, since Duke was _dead_. Maybe he had even imagined the whole thing and no one had actually spoken to him. But then that did not seem likely either. Lifting up his shirt, he found the very real bruise from when Duke had kicked him. His eyes narrowed. "Whoever that was, it wasn't any ghost," he declared aloud in the lonely prison. "And Duke just wouldn't have flipped out like that! I know he wouldn't have!"

As his voice rose, he suddenly became aware that it sounded as though he could hear another voice nearby. Frowning, he quieted and listened for it again, trying to determine which direction it had come from. Then he did hear it again, coming from his right.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?"

It was a female voice, and it sounded cautious and filled with disbelief, as if its owner could not believe that another living person was down in such a dark dungeon. It also sounded vaguely familiar, but Tristan could not place it.

"Yeah!" he called, going up against the wall from which the sound came. "I'm here, locked in! Where are you?"

"I'm locked in too," came the reply. "I thought I was the only one down here, until I heard you talking to yourself." Tristan could now tell that it was an adult woman's voice.

"How long have you been in here?" he demanded.

"Since last night," was the reply. "I don't know how it happened. My daughter and I were attacked at our home, and I must have been knocked unconscious by those Duel Monsters. I woke up here not that long ago." She had still been unconscious when Tristan had first regained his senses, which was why she had not heard him and "Duke" talking.

"'Daughter'?" Tristan repeated, his eyes widening. He recognized the voice now—it was Ms. Kawai! He had only met her a couple of times, and she had been quite formal and almost cold toward him. He had gotten the feeling that she did not think much of Joey's friends and that she most likely did not care for his obvious interest in Serenity. "Ms. Kawai, this is Tristan Taylor!" he announced now. "Is Serenity okay?"

The woman gave a sigh of exasperation. "Well, she could have been taken too, for all that I know!" she snapped, dearly praying that this was not the case. But she was baffled as to why she herself had been taken. And why Tristan? It seemed that so much did not make sense. Were the Duel Monsters working for someone else, or were they acting on their own? She had not originally believed that they would be intelligent enough to either be someone's lackeys nor to concoct something like this by themselves, but it seemed as though she had been wrong.

"Well, don't get so touchy," Tristan muttered. "How would I know that you wouldn't know something?" Then he raised his voice again so that she could hear. "Looks like we're stuck here," he announced. "I've been looking for a way out of this place, and I can't find anything. What's it like where you are?"

"The same," Ms. Kawai answered curtly, concern for Serenity building with each passing moment. Her daughter would not have any idea what to do if she was taken captive. The woman had tried to keep Serenity sheltered for most of her life, and for the most part she had succeeded. But then Serenity had started being with her brother more and had been exposed to all kinds of terrible things, much to her mother's displeasure. She did not know the full extent of what Serenity had seen, but she knew that it must have been treacherous.

When Ms. Kawai's alcoholic ex-husband had disappeared a while back and Serenity had wanted to be able to move to Domino City to be with her brother, her mother had strongly objected. But at last, knowing that she could not simply leave her other child to live alone, she had consented—but only on the condition that they moved into a decent house. The home belonging to Mr. Wheeler had fallen into disrepair over the years, and it was in a questionable neighborhood as well. After the divorce, he had not been able to keep up with the payments on their old home and so he and Joey had moved into a much cheaper, more dilapidated abode.

Tristan sighed, leaning against the wall and staring up at the ceiling. "There has to be some way out," he said firmly, looking to the door again. It was wood, but he had the feeling that there was something heavy in front of it to prevent anyone (such as himself) from ramming into it in order to break it open. "I'm gonna figure out what it is, too." _And what if Serenity really was taken too! Then I have to find her and rescue her!_

* * *

Mokuba brightened when he opened the door and found Marik standing on the porch. "Marik!" he cried happily, hugging his friend. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon!" Seto had already gone to work, and since this was a school break, Mokuba had opted to stay at home. He did not have friends his own age, as he was ostracized for being the "rich kid" by the others in his class at school, and anyway, he felt that he had seen more and was more mature than others his age. He much preferred to be with people who were closer to his brother's age, such as Yugi and his friends, and especially Marik. 

The Egyptian boy smiled, returning the embrace and stepping inside the spacious parlor. "We decided to come back and try to help with what's been going on," he explained. "Ishizu is meeting with Professor Hawkins right now to try to figure something out." He had gone to the Turtle Game Shop first, where he had found Solomon and asked him to pass along the message to Yugi that he was fine. Poor Yugi had finally gone to sleep on the couch after being awake all night, and Solomon had not wanted to wake him. Solomon had agreed to give Yugi the message and then had told Marik about Tristan's disappearance and Ms. Kawai's abduction. Marik had frowned, promising to help look for them, and then had gone to the Kaiba Manor after riding around the neighborhood for a while.

Mokuba bit his lip, shutting the door behind Marik. "Yeah, it's really weird," he said softly. "I wish we really could figure it out. I'm afraid that Seto might get hurt one of these days." He clenched a fist tightly. "I mean . . . he's got so much going on . . . and he got a weird phone call last night!" He had only been half-awake when Dartz had phoned, but he had vaguely heard Seto's part of the conversation before drifting back to sleep again. Then this morning he had found the article about Paradius and had become even more worried than before. Naturally he had to wonder if Dartz was up to his old tricks, and he knew that if that was so, Seto would be in grave danger.

Now Mokuba explained all of this to Marik as they sat on a plush couch. Mokuba was happy to have someone to tell his concerns about Seto. Of course he could not talk to Seto about it much, since Seto always would reassure him that he was fine and that he did not need to worry. And while he would talk to Yugi and his friends at times, he knew that several of them did not like Seto at all, mainly Joey and Tristan. Mokuba felt the most comfortable talking to Marik, and he was very happy that his friend had returned earlier than planned.

Marik looked at him in concern as he finished his tale. "That does sound suspicious," he admitted. He and his siblings had learned about the original Doom from Mokuba and others who had been there, and it sounded like a highly unpleasant experience. During that time, he, Ishizu, and Rishid had all been in Egypt, but they had come in contact with several agents from the Doom organization, and Marik was certain that they had even seen Dartz's three chosen "Musketeers of Doom" once or twice—but that is a tale for another time. "Do you have any idea who called your brother?"

Mokuba shrugged helplessly. "No," he said in frustration, "and they used a pay phone, so it's not like we can trace the number to a house."

Marik pondered on this. "Where was the pay phone?" he asked then. "Its location could be traced, couldn't it? Maybe we'd find something out from it, or from someone living nearby who might have seen something." He knew it was not likely, but he supposed that in a case such as this, every possible lead had to be followed up. When he had been the leader of the Rare Hunters, he had left no stone unturned in his search for the Pharaoh.

Mokuba brightened at even this slim chance for hope. "Yeah, it could!" he chirped. "The number's on our caller ID. We could put it into Seto's supercomputer and get a location for it!" He hopped up from the couch, eager to attempt this.

Marik smiled, getting up as well. "Do you know how to operate the supercomputer?"

Mokuba rubbed the back of his neck. "Well . . . I kinda used it a couple of times before," he admitted. "Seto didn't know." He ran down the hall to Seto's office to find the caller ID. "Come on!"

Amused, Marik followed.

* * *

Valon wandered into the kitchen, stifling a yawn as he opened the fridge to see what kinds of food there was. It seemed like such a natural action that he did not even think about it at first, but as he removed a container of leftover potato salad and looked inside, he realized what he was doing. "I'm actin' like I live here or somethin'," he muttered, replacing the container and searching through the cupboard to find cereal. "Heh . . . maybe I actually do." He grinned at the thought, finding it pleasant, and then took down a box of cocoa cereal that he had found in the back.

As he got out a bowl and spoon, a flash of memory came to him and he froze, staring ahead. He saw himself laying on the floor, being painfully shocked repeatedly along with Raphael by a green light. He could not see who was responsible, but it seemed to be a group of people. As they lay there in agony, the front door opened and Alister came in, taking in the scene. Then Valon saw the redhead's eyes flashing with rage and hatred as the same green light emanated from his being. Alister gave a scream, sending their attackers flying in every possible direction by the force of the light.

Then the scene changed. Now Valon saw himself and Raphael on a rooftop. He recognized that they were dueling, but at first he could not see their opponent. When he did, he nearly fell over from shock. "What the heck?" he whispered aloud. They had been dueling Alister, and he had acted maniacal, taking great delight in whittling away at their lifepoints. Valon did not know why, but he had the strong feeling that Alister had been trying to kill them.

His hands shook as he tried to pour the milk. What was going on? He had just started to become happy with being here, and then these memories had returned to him! What had been wrong with Alister? Why had the gray-eyed man acted that way? Valon saw another flash of memory, in which he was painfully blasted and ended up crashing to the roof. Raphael had been affected as well, and Alister had announced that they were both going to die by his hands.

Confusion and bewilderment swirled over him. The Alister he had met last night had acted so quiet and docile and genuinely caring. Had it all been an act? Or did he have some sort of bizarre split personality? And what was that green light? Now there were so many more questions that needed to be answered.

Valon was so caught up in his reverie that he did not notice Alister standing by him until the redhead was asking what was the matter. Immediately Valon was returned to the present, looking up at Alister with wide, accusatory blue eyes. "You tried to kill me!" he gasped, pointing a forefinger at him. "You tried to kill both me and Raphael! What the heck is the matter with you!"

He was not expecting Alister's reaction. The older man's own eyes widened and he took a step back, looking stricken. Then he clenched a fist tightly, again nearly drawing blood. "I . . . I didn't want to," he said quietly. "I wasn't in control of myself. . . ."

Valon stared at him. "And what does that mean?" he demanded. "You weren't in control of yourself? Are you tryin' to say you were possessed or somethin'?" he added in a scoffing tone. He did not understand at all what had gone on, but undeniably it was disturbing to him—to have amnesia and be brought to this home, and then to recall that one of the seemingly friendly people here had tried to kill him and the other person. Many thoughts tumbled over themselves in Valon's mind and he wondered if he should not have come back with Alister after all. Perhaps he should have stayed with the gang, even though he had not been happy there. But . . . why did it feel so right for him to be _here?_ He had not been able to explain it before, and he was all the more confused now.

"Yes," Alister said after a moment of silence. "You could say that." He felt sick. Of all memories for Valon to regain, why did it have to be those of when Alister had been controlled by the Orichalcos after it had poisoned him? Now the Australian would likely never trust him. He might even leave, and Alister could not blame him if he did.

"That's crazy!" Valon said hotly. "What kinda nutcase are you?" He glared harshly at Alister, wondering what on earth to do. A voice in the back of his head told him to calm down and that he should civilly ask both Alister and Raphael for an explanation, but he ignored it. The frustration at these discoveries was too great. Valon had hoped that he had at last found somewhere to belong, but how could he stay around someone who had actually tried to kill him?

Alister knew that Valon would be impossible to reason with under these circumstances. He swallowed hard, hating himself again for the time that Valon was remembering. "What are you going to do?" he asked finally.

Valon glared into his cereal bowl. "I don't know," he mumbled. "Just . . . go away." He could not think with Alister lingering there. Now he had thoughts of wondering if he would suddenly be attacked at any given moment. He wanted the redhead to leave him alone until he could sort out his feelings.

There was a long silence, and Valon wondered if Alister had gone away. When he looked up again, the gray-eyed man was turning to the doorway. "So be it," he said quietly. Valon felt a pang of regret for how he had spoken to the redhead, but he pushed it back and ate slowly, trying to make some sense out of what he had seen.


	8. The Problems Increase

**Notes: This chapter contains mild spoilers for the end of KaibaCorp Grand Prix (Grand Championship) and it alludes to a short story I will be writing soon.**

**

* * *

Chapter Eight**

Ishizu set aside the glass of water she had been sipping from and turned her attention to Professor Arthur Hawkins, who was sitting at the other side of the round table on his hotel room's balcony. "This is very intriguing, Professor," she said quietly, sorting through the various papers and photocopied pictures concerning the underwater city he had discovered some time back. "It is a shame that the originals were lost."

Arthur nodded gravely. "It is," he agreed. He still was trying dearly to recover from the harsh blows that had been dealt to him and all of his research when several of Dartz's henchmen had blown up his laboratory. While he had tried to keep copies of what he was working on at the museum in Florida, not everything had been there and much of his life's work had been on his computer. Recently he had gone to Florida to retrieve what he could of his Atlantis research in order to attempt determining a solution for the treacherous disaster that had befallen many locations all over the world. So far he still was not certain of what the solution was, but he believed that he was getting closer to finding it.

"You believe that, just as before, someone has breached the gate between our world and that of the Duel Monsters," Ishizu remarked, carefully lifting up a page with copies of several photographs of the carvings the Professor had found, "but why is it that you have decided that they are operating from here in the city?"

Arthur leaned back with a sigh. "I've been studying how many Duel Monsters, on the average, have invaded each area," he answered. "It's been a long process, but I have determined at last that the most monsters per square mile have been found right here in Domino City." He narrowed his eyes. "My question is, Who is responsible for this and why? And since it's what happened in the past . . . are the culprits and their motives the same as before?"

Ishizu nodded in approval. "These are the same queries that have been in my own mind," she declared. "What has become of this man Dartz?"

"He just disappeared!" Rebecca spoke up, suddenly appearing on the balcony as she shoved the glass doors open and stepped out.

Both Arthur and Ishizu turned to look at her. "Rebecca, how long have you been there?" Arthur chided gently. His granddaughter knew of what he had been working on of late, but he had not wanted her to become involved, as she had her school studies to concentrate on. And yet he knew that she was not likely to simply let the matter be. She had probably been doing research on her own time.

"I just came now," Rebecca said, smiling sweetly as she sat down.

Ishizu nodded a greeting to her. She had met Rebecca in the past and had been impressed by her intelligence, though she also believed that the young girl was too arrogant and self-assured at times and not cautious enough. "You say that Dartz has simply disappeared?" she mused now, pondering over this strange and interesting news.

Rebecca nodded. "After the end of Doom, Yugi had to report to the government on his success. They had asked him and the others for their help, you know. Anyway, he told them that Dartz was dead." She frowned thoughtfully, helping herself to a cookie. "I don't believe it, though."

Arthur sighed. This was obviously a subject that he and Rebecca had discussed many times before. "Now, Rebecca, we have no reason to believe that Yugi was misleading the government," he said wearily, "and with the way you care so much about him, I have a hard time believing that you think it of him."

Rebecca munched slowly on the dessert before speaking again. "We know all the weird things that happen around Yugi," she explained calmly. "Maybe something did happen to Dartz, but Yugi knew that it was so crazy that the government would never believe him. Maybe he told them the only logical thing he could think of." Rebecca wondered herself what all had transpired during the final battle. Yugi had not spoken of it to her, nor did she know if he had told anyone else. She only knew that Dartz had never been seen or heard of since then and that he had been reported as dead to the government.

"It's true that the Paradius company is being rebuilt," she continued now, adjusting her glasses, "but the person behind it is doing it with the San Francisco government's permission." She smiled slightly in self-satisfaction. "I don't think Dartz would have been able to accomplish that. Anyway, Yugi said that Dartz was free of the Orichalcos's influence. Whether he's dead or not, this is probably true." She laced her fingers together. "Of course, on the other hand, after ten thousand years of being under its spell, it's not likely that he could be entirely sane after finally being freed."

Arthur rubbed his forehead. "Please, come to the point, Rebecca," he said in slight frustration. "Do you or don't you believe that he was responsible?" He himself was not certain what to think. He wanted to believe what Yugi had told the government. Dartz had been a dangerous man, after all, and it would be better if he was dead. But if he was not, was there a possibility that he was behind the treachery with the Duel Monsters? Arthur hoped dearly that Doom was not going to repeat itself.

Rebecca shrugged. "At this point, it's really hard to say," she admitted. "Even if he was trying again, though, would he really be stupid enough to try the same methods twice? It seems like he'd try being original."

Ishizu listened quietly to the conversation, pondering silently over the situation. She had never met Dartz, though she had indeed seen some of his men, just as the Hawkins family had. Rebecca was making several valid points to consider. "Even if Dartz is not responsible for what is happening, we should make every attempt to find and question him," she spoke at last in her quiet, even voice. "He possesses valuable information that may be necessary for us to know in order to bring this madness to a halt."

Arthur and Rebecca both looked over at her. "That's very true," Arthur conceded, "but what if he truly is dead?"

Ishizu smiled quietly. "Then," she replied simply, "we cannot speak to him."

* * *

Raphael watched as Alister came into the living room, noticeably dejected and angry with himself. The blonde man frowned. When Alister openly displayed emotion, something was definitely wrong. "What happened?" he asked quietly. He had been in the shower, so he had not heard the confrontation, but it would have been impossible to have mistaken the obvious tension when he arrived downstairs and collapsed on the couch mere seconds before Alister had entered the room. 

Alister stopped at the landing of the stairs and looked back. "Valon remembers that I tried to kill you and him," he said flatly. "So it looks like anything we tried to do to help him feel comfortable and welcome is null and void." It seemed so ironic to him, that this had to be the cause of a problem for them, when he had just been pondering over the experience the previous night. He could not help recalling how Valon had caught him as he had been tightly clenching his fist, and how the boy had given him one of his own handkerchiefs to wrap around the small, yet irritating wounds. Valon had seemed to like him then, or he surely would not have finally agreed to come back. But now Valon thought much worse of him than when he had just considered him an insane stranger. Now Valon knew that he had been with Alister and Raphael before—and that he had nearly died at Alister's hands.

Raphael's frown deepened. "Did you try to explain that you were being controlled?" He stroked Liu gently as she came over wanting love. The man was sickened by this new development in their problem. He was afraid that Alister was right and that Valon would definitely want to leave now. He would probably return to the gang, and who knew what would happen to him there. Raphael did not want to think about it.

"Yes," Alister said bitterly, "I told him, but he doesn't believe me. And really, why should he? I'm a stranger to him. Now I'm a psychopath to him as well." He gripped the banister post until his knuckles turned white, but feeling that it was pointless to remain, he proceeded up the stairs and to his room.

Raphael watched him go, feeling saddened. After pondering for a moment, he got up with Liu in his arms and went into the kitchen. He found Valon still there, eating slowly and gazing out the window. It appeared that the boy did not notice Raphael's presence, so the older man was surprised to hear him suddenly speak.

"That redhead's crazy."

Raphael sighed. "Because of what he told you?"

Liu meowed, reaching gleefully to bat at Valon's fascinating, fluffy hair. Though Raphael tried to grab her paw, he did not manage to halt her expression of curiosity in time.

Valon started as he felt a large spike vibrate from Liu's prodding. "Yeah," he grumbled in reply. "He tried to make the excuse that he was being controlled when he tried to kill us." He finished off his cereal and turned to face Raphael, disturbing Liu's amusement.

Raphael sat down slowly. "Why couldn't it be true?" he asked quietly. "Alister loves both of us as brothers. He never would hurt us deliberately." Liu hopped down to the floor, eager to dine on her dry kernels of cat food.

Valon narrowed his eyes. "But you can't mind-control somebody," he protested. "You can't make a bloke do somethin' he doesn't wanna do."

"I know," Raphael admitted, "but there's such a thing called 'possession,' where the victim doesn't have a choice." Valon rolled his eyes at this, but Raphael persisted, telling him about the Orichalcos and the complete truth behind Alister's "psychotic" behavior in the past. He was determined that Valon would hear him out, whether the Australian would believe him or not. The man had to pray that something he was saying would get through to him.

"Alister never stopped fighting it," he concluded. "Valon, he risked his own life to save us." He could never forget that time, when Alister had surrendered the penalty game and then had been punished by the Orichalcos's near-fatal lightning. It did seem strange that his soul had not been taken, even without him possessing the actual Seal of Orichalcos card, but Raphael did not want to think too much about that. He was just relieved that Alister had been alright.

Valon still did not look convinced. "Well, he made the problem, so of course he'd need to fix it," he muttered.

Raphael was exasperated. "You missed the whole point! He _didn't_ make the problem, Valon. He was poisoned by the Orichalcos. That's what caused him to go temporarily crazy."

Valon pushed the empty bowl aside to lean his elbow on the table. "Yeah? Well, you said that he kept pushin' it back until he let his hatred out and then this Orichalcos thing took him over. So I'd say he made the problem."

Inwardly Raphael groaned. Technically, he supposed, Valon was right. But he knew it was not as simple as that. "Alister felt hatred because we were being hurt," he tried to explain. "That's the tragedy of it. He lost control because he had to watch us being tortured. Then the Orichalcos got control of his mind and made him lose all concept of reason." _At least that tragedy had a happy ending,_ he murmured to himself. _But what about this one? Will it end happily?_

Valon tried to comprehend this. "So you're sayin' he got ticked 'cause we were bein' hurt, and yet when this force-thingy got control of him, that's when he tried to hurt us instead?" He frowned. "All of this is crazy. How am I supposed to know that you're tellin' the truth?" he demanded.

"You can't," Raphael grunted, then paused. "But if you search your feelings, you'll find the answer, Valon." He stood up, laying a hand gently on the boy's shoulder as he went to get the carton of eggs out of the fridge.

Valon watched him, still frowning. _Search my feelings?_ he muttered to himself. _How the heck am I supposed to do that when my feelings are all mixed up? I dunno who's tellin' the truth or if I'm in a nuthouse or if I'm with chums._ He played with his spoon, idly watching Raphael go about making breakfast for himself. _I guess I can't deny that I really did feel happy here . . . until those dumb memories started up. But just 'cause I was startin' to settle in doesn't mean anything. Or does it?_

He continued to ponder, not realizing that an angry Rocky had seen him through the window and was already plotting his next move.

* * *

The businessman fell across his keyboard in exhaustion, allowing himself a short rest. There was so much work to accomplish—problems to sort out within the company, problems without, problems with the latest business deal. . . . A lot of his problems stemmed from the way his company's reputation had faltered after the KaibaCorp Grand Prix dueling event. That was his own fault, he knew—and everyone else knew it as well—which had also led to yet another problem. 

His board of directors had turned against him when he had returned home after the Grand Prix was over. Disgusted and angry with what he had caused by his obsession to destroy KaibaCorp, the oldest member had shot him repeatedly right in his own home, having gone mad himself in his frustration over not being able to run the company as he saw fit. Alphonse Schneider had been with the business even before the current CEO had been there, and according to him, both the previous CEO and the current one had been driving the company to ruins when he, Alphonse, knew exactly what it needed. The Grand Prix disaster had been the final straw for him. And though this man had managed to trap Alphonse by sending him through a trapdoor in the house, he had not been able to get very far before collapsing on the floor from the multiple wounds and the blood loss. If his brother had not found him, he most likely would have perished. As it was, he still had not completely recovered from that experience. Pushing himself to salvage the company's reputation did not help his sleep deprivation any.

The door creaked open, but the businessman—lost in his doze—did not stir. He vaguely heard someone approaching, but he could not make himself move to see who it was. Then he felt a small hand on his shoulder.

"Elder brother?"

He started, opening his eyes to look up at the young child standing beside him. The man sighed, stifling a yawn as he sat up and leaned back in his chair. "What is it, Leonhard?"

The magenta-haired boy looked at him worriedly. "You haven't been getting sleep again," he said with a frown. "After what happened, Siegfried, you can't afford not to sleep properly!" He still experienced nightmares about what had happened after the end of the Grand Prix. Finding his brother laying on the floor in a pool of blood after having heard the shots ring throughout the mansion had been horrible.

Siegfried sleepily reached out to pick up a rose laying on the desk. "The damage my actions caused the company was catastrophic," he replied, turning the flower around in his hands and being careful of the thorn. "Repairing it is my highest goal right now. I can sacrifice a bit of sleep for that."

Leonhard did not look happy. "You almost sacrificed your life!" he blurted out before biting his lip and looking down at the floor, afraid that his brother would be angry with him for that comment. He felt very insecure at times, and he knew that he and Siegfried were not as close as they had been when they were children. After Siegfried had begun to be groomed to take over the von Schraider company, the two brothers had drifted apart. Leonhard had watched his obsession grow over defeating Seto Kaiba and destroying KaibaCorp, and yet he had tried to stay loyal to the man he looked up to so highly. When he had realized the full extent of the damage that Siegfried would cause near the end of the Grand Prix tournament, however, Leonhard had refused to help him any further. The boy hoped that Siegfried was completely finished with his obsession now, though he could not be sure. He had not spoken of KaibaCorp at all since then.

Siegfried remained silent after Leonhard's remark. The child continued to stare at the floor, regretting his outburst, even though he knew it was the truth. Then he felt a hand gently come down on his head. Surprised, Leonhard looked up into his brother's sea-green eyes. Though at times they flashed with anger and jealousy, now there was only kindness reflected in the orbs.

"I know that was hard for you," Siegfried said quietly. "I am sorry for what you suffered because of me."

"It's alright," Leonhard answered just as softly, relieved that his brother was not angry. "I'm just worried about you. . . ."

"I will be fine," Siegfried reassured him. "Now, what was it you wanted to talk with me about?"

Leonhard glanced out the window before looking back to him. "I heard on the news that Duel Monsters have been found here in Germany!" he exclaimed. "They've been appearing all over the world lately, and now they've come here!" He was not certain what to make of this strangeness, but he had the feeling it definitely was not good. Since he had not been exposed to the many supernatural things that Yugi and the others had been, however, Leonhard had not even considered that the monsters were real.

Siegfried blinked in surprise. "Really?" he murmured. "This is interesting. I have heard about the monster sightings, but at first I thought it was a publicity stunt of some kind." He set the rose down and stood up, going to the window himself in an attempt to see if he could discover any of the creatures.

Leonhard stared at him. "It isn't?"

"I actually do not know," Siegfried replied, "though I've heard rumors that they are real." He smirked slightly in amusement at the thought. He did not believe it was so, and he still wondered if it was an elaborate publicity stunt set up by Seto Kaiba.

"But . . . they couldn't be real, could they?" Leonhard said in an awed near-whisper.

Siegfried shrugged. "I suppose anything is possible," he said with disinterest.

* * *

Mokuba leaped off the motorcycle almost as soon as Marik drove onto the street where they had tracked the telephone booth to. The Egyptian boy shook his head in amusement as he parked the vehicle and climbed off as well, observing Mokuba running eagerly to the booth. "Do you see anything?" he called, removing his helmet before following the child over. 

Mokuba shook his head, walking around the booth and then stepping inside. "It all looks pretty normal from here," he replied, "and I guess trying to take fingerprint samples won't do a lot of good. I mean, a lot of people have probably used this booth since last night." He sighed, wishing that there was something, anything, that they could use as a clue.

"Maybe," Marik said slowly, taking in the area. "This is a rather quiet street, though. I can't imagine that too many people would have passed by here needing to use this phone in just a few hours. I've actually never tried dusting anything for fingerprints, though," he admitted with a rueful smirk, "so I'm not even sure how we'd go about it."

Mokuba grinned. "I can take care of that!" he announced. "You go ask somebody if they saw anything last night."

Still amused by the boy's enthusiasm, Marik agreed. He doubted that he would find anything out, however, and after questioning most everyone on the small street, he had to admit that he had been right. People were not prone to looking out their windows after dark, especially recently, and someone using the telephone booth was not interesting enough to keep their attention. Still, he pressed on and tried the last home, where he was amazed to find a bit of useful information. A little girl had seen someone with long, mint-colored hair placing a phone call in the middle of the night. She had been awake because a dragon had roared outside and she had been scared. When her mother had tried to comfort her by showing her that the dragon was not outside, she had seen the being using the telephone.

Thanking her, Marik left and came back over to Mokuba. The description meant very little to him, but he relayed the news anyway and was surprised to see the boy's blue-gray eyes widen in complete astonishment.

"That sounds like Dartz!" he cried.

Marik stared at him. "You mean the one who created this Doom nonsense in the first place?" he said in disbelief.

Mokuba nodded vigorously. "But it doesn't make sense," he sighed. "Why would Dartz warn my brother about trouble? And if he did, does that mean he's not behind this thing about Paradius being rebuilt?"

Marik shook his head, about to reply, when he noticed that Mokuba's attention was focusing elsewhere. "What is it?" he asked.

The raven-haired boy pointed to a couple of Duel Monsters, which were headed for the building that Dartz had found the previous night. "They're going over there!" he announced. "Let's follow them and see what's going on!" With that he was running down the sidewalk after them.

Marik frowned. "That could be dangerous!" he yelled, but Mokuba was already too far away to be heard. With a muttered Egyptian curse, the teenager chased his friend and just hoped that this would not be something they would regret later.

* * *

Neither Tristan nor Ms. Kawai had managed to find a way out by the time Duke returned. To their surprise, he unlocked both of their doors and then stood in front of them with crossed arms and a wicked smirk. 

"Well," he said smoothly, "I guess you're wondering why you've been brought here."

Ms. Kawai narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you one of Joseph's friends as well?" she demanded, thinking that she recognized him. In fact, she seemed to vaguely remember his funeral from several months back, though she knew she must surely be remembering wrong. It would have had to have been someone else. Duke's next words seemed to clarify her memories, however, leaving her more confused than before.

Duke laughed. "It's like I told Tristan here," he replied. "I was, but that's all over now. That guy's dead and buried." He reached into his pocket and threw an Orichalcos stone at each of them. "Here's the deal—you two are going to start working for Doom Reborn, just like I am."

Tristan stared at the stone in disbelief, then threw it to the floor. "You've gotta be kidding me!" he yelled, wishing desperately that this was just a bad dream.

Ms. Kawai stared at her stone dumbly, then looked up with a frown. "What's going on? What's Doom Reborn? What is this stone supposed to do?" She glared at Duke, wondering what on earth was going on. If this was the boy who had apparently died, how had he come back to life? Had he faked his own death? In any case, she was highly disgusted with him now, since she did not know him as Tristan did and she did not know that he would never willingly join an organization such as Doom Reborn.

Tristan groaned. "I should've known Joey would never tell her any of that stuff," he muttered low. He could also sense her dislike of Duke, and he could not blame her, with the way he was acting. She had never liked him much to begin with. Finding him behaving this way—or what Tristan felt must surely simply be his body without his soul—definitely was not helping her opinion of him any.

Duke kicked the stone back to Tristan. "I didn't think you'd accept this yet," he declared, "but before this day is over, you're going to. The lady will, too."

Tristan had the feeling that it was going to be a very long day.

* * *

Rocky, still watching the bikers' home, was indignant and annoyed. So Valon had gone back there! Why? Did he remember his true past? But that was not supposed to happen. What would have triggered it? The purple-haired young man clutched his mace tightly. "I don't take any kind of betrayal lightly," he growled, wondering just how much Valon had told the other two about the gang. This could turn out to be disastrous for him. Angel might believe in Valon's loyalty—or at least, in his disinterest in getting the gang in trouble—but Rocky did not. 

Slowly he got up from his concealed location once he was certain that no one was looking out the window. He would find a way into the house, and then Valon would be sorry that he had left so soon. Rocky would drag him back to his well-paying and impatient parents and collect the rest of the bounty, no matter what the consequences would prove to be. He did not care how well Valon would trust his parents, if he would trust them at all. All he cared about was getting paid. This money would support the gang for a long while.

He crept around the house, looking for a way in. At last, seeing a basement window in the back, he shattered the glass with his weapon and leaped inside. At this point, he did not care if they heard his noisy entry. That did not matter now. He was not one of the top mercenaries in the city for nothing. His eyes glinted with the prospect of the fights that were certain to ensue, culminating in complete chaos and in him getting what he wanted.

"You're gonna be paying hard for this one, Aussie," he muttered as he looked for the stairs, "with your friends' lives."


	9. The New Orichalcos

**Notes: Thanks goes to Black Salem, who inspired the idea of Valon's next returning memory!**

**

* * *

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**Chapter Nine**

Leonhard sighed, looking sleepily out the window of the airplane. He did not especially like the idea of journeying to Domino City, but it seemed that Pegasus had called a meeting of his business associates, to determine what they were going to do about the bad publicity that their companies were getting. Some tabloids were reporting that it was likely Siegfried's fault and that he was trying to discredit KaibaCorp, because of what he had done during the Grand Prix. But that would not even make sense, since the Von Schraider company and Industrial Illusions were suffering bad publicity as well.

He looked up at Siegfried, who appeared to be deep in thought. "What are we going to do, elder brother?" the boy asked worriedly. Leonhard thought that he actually looked concerned.

Siegfried frowned. "I don't know," he replied.

The man leaned back, looking down at the rose he was holding. He truly was concerned. He had not expected that his actions would still be causing repercussions now, though he supposed that he should not be surprised. But if neither he, Pegasus, nor Seto Kaiba had unleashed the Duel Monsters, then what was the explanation? He was not a superstitious man, and he did not believe the rumors that the creatures were real. However, he was not as firmly set in his ways as Seto had been, where matters of the supernatural were concerned. If he learned the truth, he would be more inclined than Seto to calmly accept it.

Leonhard sighed sadly and turned to look out the window again. There was a strange green light outside, and he watched it with fascination and curiosity. It was so bright and pulsing, almost as if it was signaling to someone. He remembered hearing reports of such lights being seen around the world during a time shortly before the Grand Prix tournament had been organized. What was it? No one had ever determined that, to his knowledge. But it had never been seen since. Why was it here now?

Siegfried glanced over at the boy. "Leonhard?" he asked after a moment, when it seemed that Leonhard was lost deep in thought. The child ignored him, continuing to gaze at the light in the sky.

"What are you looking at?" he queried, raising his voice a bit. Leonhard still did not respond. Siegfried raised an eyebrow. Leonhard was not prone to disregarding him in this way. On the contrary, the boy loved it when Siegfried paid attention to him and would always acknowledge his elder brother. The businessman had to wonder what sort of "spell" the light had put over Leonhard, though of course he did not take this possibility seriously.

At last the magenta-haired child turned to face him again. Siegfried stared in disbelief as he took note of the way the gentle, hazel eyes were now flashing crimson. As he had not encountered such supernatural things in the past, he was completely confused now and had no idea what to make of this. "What is the matter?" he demanded, reaching to grasp Leonhard's shoulders.

The boy slapped his hands away and stood up, glaring down at him with the blank, vacant eyes of a stranger. "Don't touch me!" he cried. "I hate you! I hate you, and I'm going to kill you!" With that he drew a pocketknife and lunged, and Siegfried only barely managed to get out of the way in time to avoid being stabbed.

From his new position on the floor, he regarded Leonhard with disbelief. He wanted to say that this was not his brother speaking, because he knew that Leonhard loved him, but what other explanation was there? Had he been hypnotized in some way by the light he had been gazing at? Siegfried frowned. It was not supposed to be possible to hypnotize someone unless they gave their permission, nor was it supposed to be possible for them to do anything under hypnosis that they would not do normally. Still . . . how could this truly be the sweet, quiet brother who had looked up to him?

"Leonhard, you don't want to do this." Siegfried spoke quietly and calmly, searching Leonhard's red eyes desperately for any trace of the boy he knew. Slowly he got to his knees, where he was more at eye-level with the child.

Leonhard glared back at him, the knife held firmly in his hand. "Yes, I do!" he yelled, advancing until he had the knife ready to jab into Siegfried's throat. "You've never been a good brother. I hate what you've done! Now no one trusts us or the company. I even have a hard time getting into dueling tournaments now because everyone knows my real last name is Von Schraider instead of Wilson! They don't want any Von Schraiders to enter their tournaments!" His eyes flashed dangerously, even as he struggled to break the control the Orichalcos was exercising over him. He could not understand why he was being forced to say and do these things against his will. What would happen if he was not able to get himself under control? Panic swept over him.

Siegfried gazed at the child, admittedly stung by his words. Part of him had to wonder if this was truly how Leonhard did feel. He would not blame the boy if he was angry over what Siegfried's actions during the Grand Prix had caused, but in any case, he could not believe that Leonhard wanted him dead. Something was very wrong here, and the only semi-logical conclusion that Siegfried could come to was the afore-mentioned hypnosis. He was about to speak when Leonhard cut him off.

"I don't want to hear what you have to say!" the boy snapped. "It's all lies and nonsense! All you care about is being better than Seto Kaiba. You never cared about anything else!" He jabbed the edge of the knife against Siegfried's neck, very nearly drawing blood. Siegfried knew that he had to stay calm, even though inwardly he did not feel the least bit calm.

"That isn't true!" he retorted now. "I won't deny that I want to be better than him, but it isn't the only thing I care about." He looked firmly into Leonhard's eyes. "I care about you as well, younger brother."

"It's just a lie!" Leonhard wailed, moving to slit Siegfried's throat. Immediately the man took hold of his brother's wrist, forcing the knife away from him. He hoped that he could get the weapon away without a fight, because he was afraid of injuring Leonhard if they fought for control of it.

The boy narrowed his eyes, trying to pull his arm free. Siegfried tightened his grip and reached to completely restrain him, but then hissed in pain as Leonhard cut into his arm. Trying to ignore it, he got both of his arms around the child from behind and then again tried to wrench the knife away. Leonhard yelled, struggling to free himself, but Siegfried held him firmly.

"What has come over you, younger brother!" Siegfried cried, even as the knife dropped from Leonhard's grasp to fall harmlessly on the carpeted floor. Then the boy was trembling in his arms and Siegfried realized that Leonhard was sobbing. After a moment Siegfried could make out choked words amid the tears.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Elder brother, I didn't mean to hurt you! I didn't mean to at all!" The crystalline drops fell uncontrollably from Leonhard's eyes as he continued to shudder in Siegfried's embrace. The horror and confusion he felt over what had happened was immense. He had never wanted to hurt Siegfried, but he knew he had. He could see his brother's blood dripping to the floor. He had done that. "I don't understand what happened, elder brother! I . . . I didn't want to do this! I didn't. . . ."

Siegfried continued to hold him close, allowing himself to relax now. "I know," he said quietly. "It's alright, Leonhard. I know." He fully believed the boy. Leonhard's remorse was obviously genuine. But Siegfried was still extremely baffled, as he knew Leonhard must also be. He could not imagine what could have caused this, but now was not the time to ask. Leonhard was much too distraught. Siegfried would wait until the child was calm, and then he would ask about what had happened.

* * *

Vivalene smirked to herself, leaning back at her desk and enjoying the luxury of knowing that she was running the infamous Paradius corporation from its secret location. She was not the ultimate leader of Doom Reborn, but she was among the most trusted officers and she fully intended to work her way completely up the ladder. The one whose brainchild was the rebirth of the Doom organization was not known to any of the members. None of them had even ever seen the person, to Vivalene's knowledge. They answered only to her, and she in turn answered to the one who spoke with the leader. 

She leaned forward with interest as a new email came in, and she read it with a wickedly pleased sneer. "So, things are going according to plan," she smiled, unbuttoning her powder blue suit jacket and draping it over the back of the chair. "The Orichalcos is everywhere now, and it looks like this new strain has some surprising effects that even I didn't predict. I knew it would be helpful to employ Doctor Alice Portman."

With a sigh she noticed another window flashing at the bottom of the screen, this one for the program that was connected with the security cameras. Interested, she clicked on it and looked over the information. "Well, what do we have here," she murmured, studying the black-and-white images taken by the camera. "It looks like we have visitors. I guess I'll have to show them that it isn't nice to enter without being invited." She laughed to herself then, as she stood up. "Doom Reborn will give them a warm welcome."

* * *

Valon perked up when he heard the noise in the basement. He frowned, looking in the direction of the closed door. "What was that?" he asked aloud. The cat was still in the kitchen with him and Raphael, so she could not have been responsible—not that Valon thought that a feline could have made such a loud clatter in the first place. 

Raphael was also looking toward the door. He was still sitting at the table, having just finished his breakfast of scrambled eggs. "I don't know," he growled. "It sounded like glass shattering."

Before Valon could reply, the door was abruptly kicked in as Rocky entered the room. Both bikers gawked at him in disbelief. Raphael wondered who on earth this violent person was, while Valon wondered how Rocky had ever tracked him here. Quickly the brunette got up, feeling somewhat annoyed that the man had barged in like this.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded defensively, his blue eyes narrowing as his gaze fell upon the mace that Rocky was clutching in his hands. The spiked sphere was one of the gang leader's favorite weapons, and Valon knew that Rocky could cause more than his fair share of disaster with it. He clenched a fist.

"Whaddya think, you traitor?" Rocky retorted, shoving the mace dangerously toward Valon. "I'm here for you. I guess you thought you could just come back here without getting any of us ticked off. Well, you were wrong, Aussie!"

Now Raphael gathered that the intruder was the Rocky whom Valon had spoken of. He stood as well, quite angry with this development. He was about to speak when Valon did, instead.

"Don't tie yourself in knots, mate," the Australian snapped. "You've got it all wrong. I just met a bloke last night and he wanted me to come back with him . . . to visit. It's not like I'm stayin' here or somethin'." He was not certain if his words were the truth or not. After what had happened earlier, he had started to feel doubtful about being here, but he had not completely decided against it. The dreams he had been having right before this had happened were still vivid in his mind. But in any case, his words to Rocky were spoken in the hopes that the purple-haired man would not allow his temper to get the best of him and attack Raphael . . . or Alister, if the redhead came downstairs again.

Rocky glowered. "And how do I know that's the truth?" he said darkly, looking from Valon to Raphael and back again. Raphael looked strong, but Rocky was not concerned. He fought tough musclemen opponents all the time and won.

"Because I said so!" Valon retorted, feeling his temper growing short. "Look, I'll come back with you now, if that's what you want." For some reason, even though he was now more confused than ever, he did not want Rocky to harm the people who lived here. They did not deserve that.

Rocky's upper lip curled. "It's too late for that, Aussie," he snapped. "I gave you a mission and you didn't complete it like you were told to. Instead you came home with these losers. Well, I don't take kindly to it. You're comin' with me, and these sorry punks you've been stayin' with are gonna end up bleedin' on the floor!" He clutched the mace tighter as he moved to lunge at Raphael.

The tough blonde moved out of the way, his eyes narrowed darkly. "I don't have any plans to die today," he announced, "and you would do well to not try to make me lose my temper. You're not going to be taking Valon anywhere with you." He was furious that this stranger had broken into the home, but more so, he found it strange that Rocky had known to come here to find Valon. Had the boy not said that the gang did not know anything about him? They would not know where he lived or that he could have come home with Alister . . . unless Rocky was not telling everything. Perhaps Rocky did indeed know Valon's identity, but had never revealed it for whatever reason.

Rocky cursed at him, but then his attention was diverted as Alister wandered down the stairs. The gray-eyed man had, indeed, heard all the commotion. Realizing what must be happening, he had left his room to see if he could do anything to help. When he caught sight of Rocky, he barely had time to react before the gang leader was lunging at him.

In the next moment Rocky was flying through the air, courtesy of Raphael, who had grabbed him around the waist from behind and thrown him to the floor. The older man glared down at him coldly, reaching to take the mace away. "Don't even try to hurt him," he growled in a warning tone.

Valon stared at this, his own blue eyes wide. Abruptly another memory came to mind, of Raphael doing the same thing to Alister. Then in his mind he saw Raphael roughly pressing him, Valon, against the wall. He was not aware of this, but his hands were shaking. What sort of strange existence had they been leading? It was disturbing enough when he remembered about Alister attacking him and Raphael, but now this other unpleasant memory was being dredged up as well. Raphael had attacked him too, and Alister, and from the memory it appeared that Alister had not been controlled by any Orichalcos force. Raphael had simply been fighting him and Valon mercilessly, without good reason. Subconsciously the Australian took a step back.

Now Alister was darkly looking at Rocky as well. "How did you know to come here?" he asked, voicing Raphael's own thoughts. The redhead felt that it was much too strange to be a coincidence.

He frowned when he noticed Valon moving away slightly. He doubted that the boy was nervous because of Rocky, so he assumed that it had to be something else—most likely because of the memories he had been experiencing earlier. Naturally Alister could not know that Valon was now starting to feel uneasy towards Raphael, so the gray-eyed man assumed that Valon was still thinking of when Alister had been possessed by the Orichalcos. Alister had to wonder if Valon would ever trust him again. If he never regained the rest of his memories, perhaps he never would.

The gang leader started to make an angry retort to Alister's query when he saw Raphael dangling the mace in his face. Then he gave a low curse. It appeared that, at least for the moment, he was stranded.

"I'd suggest you talk," Raphael said coldly. "This isn't the kind of thing we take kindly to around here." Alister nodded in agreement.

Valon swallowed hard, watching this but feeling detached and overwhelmed with his confusion. What he truly wanted to do was to leave the house and just go somewhere to be alone for a while so he could think all of this out. But as long as Rocky was here, he knew he could not. It would be cowardly to leave his problem with Alister and Raphael. And besides, if he could concentrate on the present long enough, he wanted to know how Rocky had ended up here as well.

* * *

Seto walked down the hall of the local branch of Industrial Illusions, trying to ignore the images of Toon monsters gracing the walls and the statues of the blasted creatures that were set up at intervals all along the way. He growled inwardly at the displeasing sight. _Pegasus hasn't changed one bit,_ he thought to himself. He actually had not seen the man since the events that had taken place during Doom, and he was quite satisfied with that. But now Pegasus was in town and he had called a meeting with his main business partners, and that of course included Seto. With an annoyed glance around the hall, he flung open the designated door to the conference room. He knew that Siegfried Von Schraider would also be attending, and that was something he was absolutely not looking forward to. 

Pegasus stood to greet Seto as the teenager entered the room. "Kaiba-boy!" he exclaimed with a smile. "It's been such a long time, hasn't it."

Seto growled in annoyance. "Not long enough," he retorted, casting his gaze around the room. "Where's the third member of this little get-together?" He hated that he had to be here, but there was nothing he could do about it. He doubted that they would come to any conclusions about the problem in their meeting, however. A Curse of Dragon, roaring outside the window, seemed to be agreeing with Seto's thoughts. There was little that the three businessmen could come up with to quell the public's concerns about the creatures, especially since none of them knew how to explain it. But somehow they did have to prove that none of them had caused this problem for "publicity," or other reasons. Siegfried Von Schraider would probably have the most difficult time with that, due to his past actions.

Pegasus shook his head in mock disappointment. "Oh dear, Kaiba-boy, you're still so grouchy." He gestured idly about the room. "As for Siegfried, he seems to be a bit delayed. But then, I guess he always has been, hasn't he?" He smirked a bit at his jibe. "After all, you beat him to coming here with your designs for holographic technology."

Seto grunted. He agreed with Pegasus's statement, though he would never show it. With a thump of finality he set his briefcase on the long conference table. "Speaking ill of your business partners when they're not around, I see," he commented then. "I wonder what you say about me." His blue eyes narrowed with this sarcastic remark. Naturally Seto could not care less what Pegasus said about him.

"Oh, I merely tell the truth," Pegasus smirked, "that you're a tense CEO with no time or interest in having fun. You know, even Siegfried knows how to relax at times, though he doesn't care for cartoons." He looked up as the door opened again. Seto turned around as well.

Siegfried was standing in the doorway, looking slightly weary. He was as flamboyant as always, wearing a trademark purple suit along with a white ruffled shirt and a red scarf about his neck. His right arm was in a sling, prompting both Seto and Pegasus to wonder what had happened, and Leonhard was at the man's side, looking unusually nervous and uncomfortable. Leonhard's presence there was not odd, as he had accompanied Siegfried when they had first been going to make the business deal with Pegasus. What was odd, however, was the child's behavior.

"Pardon my tardiness," Siegfried smiled, closing the door behind them. "There was an . . . incident."

Pegasus clucked his tongue. "Dear me, it certainly looks like it," he exclaimed. "Do tell us what happened! I'm certain we're both highly curious."

Seto rolled his eyes. "Speak for yourself," he grunted. "I couldn't care less."

Siegfried smirked at him. "Your attitude has not improved since our last meeting, Herr Kaiba." He glanced at Pegasus. "As for what happened, it was simply a misfortune with a knife."

Seto noticed how Leonhard looked down at the floor gloomily as Siegfried spoke. He frowned slightly, wondering what the child knew about the "misfortune." He knew that Leonhard adored his elder brother, much the same way that Mokuba adored him, so he knew that the boy must be worried about Siegfried's well-being. And yet, it seemed as if there was something more. Leonhard almost looked . . . guilty, Seto realized. _Why?_

Pegasus shook his head. "My, but those things are dangerous," he said.

"Quite so." Siegfried sat down at the table, obviously not intending to offer any more information on the subject. Leonhard sat down next to him, looking as though he wished the chair would swallow him up. Continuing to frown suspiciously, Seto sat down as well.

Pegasus shrugged, also taking a seat. "I do hope it didn't cause any serious damage," he said, though both Seto and Siegfried somewhat doubted the sincerity of this comment.

"Not at all," Siegfried responded with a casual air, glancing at Leonhard as he spoke. _Almost,_ Seto thought, _as if he's trying to convince his brother of that._ "And at least it wasn't my left arm," the pink-haired man continued, leaning back in the chair.

"Ah yes," Pegasus nodded. "That's right, you are left-handed, aren't you."

He looked over at Leonhard. "And how are you today, Leonhard?" he asked. "You just don't seem to be your normally cheerful self."

The boy looked up with a start before remembering fully where he was. Then he gave a weak smile. "I'm alright," he mumbled.

"He is shaken over the fact that I was injured," Siegfried explained.

"Of course," Pegasus nodded. Another roar from the Curse of Dragon seemed to remind the CEO of Industrial Illusions exactly why they were gathered there. "Well, we'd best get down to business," he announced then. "It looks like these monsters aren't going to go away any time soon, and we're continuing to take the blame for their existence."

Seto grunted. "There's little we can do to change the public's minds," he said flatly.

"So true, sadly," Pegasus agreed with a sigh, "but we still have to try something."

"What we should do is try to find out who is responsible," Siegfried spoke up calmly. Subconsciously he rubbed at his arm where the bandage was. The wound was paining him, but he doubted that it was very serious. It would heal quickly. He was only wearing the sling to humor Leonhard. "Whoever it is must reverse the process before even more damage is done."

Seto growled to himself. As much as he wanted to believe that a mortal person had done this, he had been forced to accept that the monsters were real. He had no idea who could even reverse the process, now that Atemu was gone. "I think," he spoke up now, "we should focus our energy on the Paradius corporation."

"Paradius?" Siegfried and Pegasus exclaimed at once.

Seto nodded firmly. "Last night I got an anonymous phone call," he said flatly, "and the caller said that an old enemy was returning and might try to take my company. Well, then I looked through the newspaper and found an article telling about the return of the Paradius Corporation." With that he unlocked his briefcase and removed the paper in question, tossing it down onto the table for the others to examine.

"Hmm, Paradius," Pegasus murmured, remembering the name all too well. "They're the ones who wanted to 'purify' the world by taking people's souls and feeding them to their great mythical beast." He looked over the article, not noticing or else not caring how Siegfried and Leonhard were both staring at him in disbelief. Paradius was the last company that Pegasus wanted to see rise again. He still remembered the acute pain as his soul had been ripped from his body at the close of his duel with Mai Valentine. Now he knew how his own victims must have felt during Duelist Kingdom.

"These people sound quite mad," Siegfried commented, leaning forward to see the article himself.

"Indeed," Pegasus agreed. "Anyway, when Paradius came to power before, there was a time when Duel Monsters were seen appearing all over the world." He leaned back in his chair. "The entire reason that Kaiba-boy here organized his infamous Grand Prix tournament was because of how his company's reputation suffered from the Paradius fiasco."

"Yes," Siegfried nodded, "I remember hearing about the KaibaCorp takeover shortly before the tournament." He frowned slightly, suddenly remembering something. "Wasn't that when those strange green lights began appearing as well?"

Leonhard perked up at this. Perhaps now there would be an explanation for his strange behavior. But he shuddered, feeling disturbed by the images entering his mind due to Pegasus's explanation of the Paradius company's objective. To think that anyone could be so delusional was frightening.

Seto narrowed his eyes at Siegfried. "Unfortunately," he confirmed. "The beams were sent out by a card used only by the members of Paradius—the Seal of Orichalcos."

"The card's powers did strange things to the wielders," Pegasus continued. "According to them, the Orichalcos would test them to prove if they were pure of heart or evil. They didn't realize that they were actually being corrupted by the Orichalcos, which was also a stone as well as a card."

"Corrupted?" Leonhard spoke for the first time, feeling sick at the thought. He wanted to believe that such things only happened in his fairy tale stories, but Pegasus and Seto were talking as if it all was real—and that they had been witnesses to it. At the time of the rise of Paradius, Leonhard had been confused and mystified by the reports of Duel Monsters and strange lights, but Siegfried had brushed it away as nonsense. Now he wondered if they were going to have to consider the possibility of it all being real. He could not help remembering how he had felt when he had looked into the green light.

"Why, yes," Pegasus nodded, looking at the child in surprise. "It would bring out the darkness in their hearts and twist it."

Leonhard slumped back in despair, tears coming to his eyes. "That's . . . that's what happened to me!" he wailed. He knew it had to be. The green light—the Orichalcos—had taken hold of his senses and warped the dark part of his heart until he was behaving in ways that he would never dream of if he was in his right mind. That was the explanation for his actions, and Leonhard did not like it one bit.

Instantly all eyes were upon him. "What do you mean, Leonhard?" Pegasus demanded.

The child leaped up from where he was sitting and ran for the door. "I hurt my brother!" he screamed back, struggling to get the heavy door open even as the businessmen stared at him in shock and then as Siegfried got up to go to him. "I'm the one who stabbed him! I tried to kill him!" He could no longer contain the truth. It haunted him. How could his brother even still care about and trust him after this? Leonhard was certain that he did not deserve it. At last he pushed the door open and fled down the hall, the tears spilling over. Behind him he could hear Siegfried calling to him, but he did not stop.

* * *

Marik looked up and down the long corridor furtively. He did not think that anyone was watching, but he knew that he could be wrong and that it was unwise to make assumptions. It was probably unwise for him and Mokuba to be in the building in the first place, he knew, but the child had ran in before Marik had been able to stop him. Now Marik could not even find the direction the child had traveled in. Calling for him was out of the question, so the Egyptian boy continued to wander the halls, checking in all the rooms and slowly getting over his surprise at seeing various Duel Monsters in most every one. 

_Blast it! _he yelled silently. _Where is he, and what is this place? Why are the Duel Monsters congregating here? _He noticed two Dark Magician Girls blinking curiously at him and then he had to wonder if they were going to report his presence to whatever humans might be lurking about. He had not seen any security cameras. As a matter of fact, the building seemed old and deserted, and much of it was damaged, burned, and charred from an apparent fire. Now that he thought of it, he remembered Mokuba emailing him while he and his siblings were still in Egypt and telling him about the building catching on fire and burning.

Abruptly a familiar cry ripped through the air and Marik immediately perked up. "Mokuba!" he exclaimed, forgetting to be quiet. He ran down the hall in the direction of the sound and then had to stop short in amazement, utterly bewildered.

Mokuba had been pulled back against an unknown man with golden eyes and flowing turquoise hair. The man had clapped a hand over Mokuba's mouth to keep him from screaming again and the child was struggling, desperate to tear free of the captor's grasp. "Let him go!" Marik cried indignantly.

As the man raised his gaze to meet Marik's, the Egyptian was stunned to see the depth revealed in the orbs. This man had seen many horrible things over the years. That much was obvious. Marik stared, feeling both his confusion and fascination growing. Who was this man? What had he lived through?

"Neither of you should be here," the man said quietly, his voice tinged with irritation and an accent that Marik could not place. "It was foolish to come."

Now Mokuba managed to shove the hand away from his mouth. "Oh yeah?" he cried angrily. "Why are you here, Dartz! You're not supposed to be here either! Maybe you're the one responsible for all of this, just like last time!" He knew that he and Marik had been wondering if Dartz was the one who had placed the phone call to Seto Kaiba, but even if he had, that did not mean that he was not responsible in some way for what was going on now. With him, it was always impossible to know what his agenda was.

Marik was stunned. "You're Dartz!" he exclaimed. Even though he had been told what Dartz looked like, he had still not been prepared for what he had just found. Marik had expected a hardened, ruthless being. Instead he saw before him a tired and weary man who looked as though he had seen enough acts of treachery for ten lifetimes.

"Yes," was the reply. "For good or ill, I am he."


	10. The Traitor?

**Chapter Ten**

Valon looked at Rocky suspiciously as he continued to lay sprawled on the floor while Raphael dangled the mace in front of him. The Australian knew from past experience that Rocky would not accept defeat so easily, and he was on guard for whatever trick the gang leader might try. Swallowing hard, he stepped a bit closer, though he had to admit that he felt uneasy seeing Raphael holding the weapon. The memories of him and Alister being attacked by the blonde were still fresh in his mind. He wanted to ask about it, but he knew that now was not the time.

Now Rocky sneered. "You think you're really smart, don't you?" he hissed at Raphael. "You've got my main weapon, so you figure your victory is in the bag." His amber eye flashed, reflecting his eagerness at the thought of battle.

Raphael looked at him with displeasure. "What have you got in mind?" he demanded, tightening his grip on the mace's handle. He knew that someone such as Rocky could not be trusted, but he was unsure of what sort of attack the other man might try. _I'll have to be prepared for anything,_ he determined. There was even the possibility that Rocky had henchmen hiding out somewhere in the house, ready to spring, but he did not want to concentrate on that thought.

Rocky remained completely still instead of answering, his one eyed-gaze darting around the room as if he was looking for something. Narrowing his eyes, Raphael glared at him while Alister looked around in the hopes of finding what it was that Rocky was seeking. Instead the gang leader abruptly struck out, catching Raphael in the leg with a tiny, hidden knife that he threw before Raphael could react. The man grunted in pain, momentarily startled, and then Rocky had the moment he needed to leap up and grab for his mace.

After being briefly stunned himself, Valon then narrowed his eyes in outrage. "Why you!" he cried indignantly, lunging forward to grab Rocky before he could get his hands on his weapon. Alister, shocked as well, moved to help Raphael. For the next several minutes, everything was a confused melee as furniture, weapons, and bodies crashed about the room. Liu, terrified by it all, had long ago ran under the couch. She hissed during a point when Rocky fell down near her hiding place, flattening her ears and backing further into the shelter. Rocky paid no attention to her and instead vilely cursed, attempting to rise before being pinned down by both Valon and Alister.

"Oh no you don't!" Valon cried, slamming his palms hard against Rocky's shoulder blades and forcing him back to the floor. Alister then proceeded, against his will, to arm-wrestle with the gang leader in order to get control of another mini-knife that he had gotten into his hand.

"There's just one more thing," Raphael said flatly, abruptly appearing and leaning over the grappling crew. Rocky glanced up at him, but then immediately returned to his wrestling match with Alister, which Valon was trying to enter as well. Raphael growled, afraid that someone was going to be hurt. He struck out, catching Rocky right in the face with his fist. The blow managed to daze him sufficiently that Alister was then able to pry the knife away and press on the back of Rocky's neck, rendering him unconscious.

Valon sighed, but allowed himself to relax as he climbed off of Rocky's back. "So much for gettin' him to talk," he muttered. "Anyone got anything to tie him up with?"

Alister grunted, but handed Valon a long piece of the curtain drawstring, which had somehow been torn free during the battle. He then excused himself to find the first aid kit in order to tend to Raphael's stab wound.

Raphael sank down into a chair, examining the wound in his leg. He had already removed the knife, and the injury did not appear to be extremely serious. Of course, there was always the possibility that the weapon had been poisoned, Raphael thought in a sarcastically pleasant tone. With their luck, it did not seem to be much of a stretch, either. "We'll have to call the police," he announced then.

Valon glowered. "They'll probably take me away, too," he muttered. "I was in the gang, after all." He finished tying Rocky up with the drawstring and then leaned back, wondering if the material would even hold the gang leader down. If he regained consciousness, he might be able to break it. Valon decided that the next order of business was to find some strong rope.

"You told me before that you didn't actually help the gang with their crimes," Raphael grunted when Valon returned from the garage a moment later, clutching a piece of rope in his hands. Raphael was cleaning his wound himself, even though Alister had offered to help him. He had determined that the knife had not been poisoned, for he was certain that if he had been, he would be feeling the effects by now.

"Yeah, well . . . I was still in it," Valon retorted, sitting on Rocky's back while applying the rope.

Raphael frowned, hearing an edge to Valon's voice. Whether it was from his concern over going to jail or over the memory of Alister that the boy had recalled earlier, Raphael could not determine. But he decided that it was most likely the latter, now that things had calmed down. "Are you still upset about earlier?" he asked finally.

Valon looked over, glaring at the blonde. "Yes and no," he shot back. "I don't get what's up with you blokes! You attacked me too! You attacked me and Alister, and I didn't see that funny symbol on your forehead when you did!"

Raphael's expression darkened, while Alister raised an eyebrow. Then the redhead realized what Valon must be referring to—the time when Raphael had attacked them after being poisoned by a hypnotic drug that Doctor Portman had created. When he looked at Raphael, he saw that the older man had already come to that conclusion.

"Valon," he said slowly, as he bandaged his wound, "I didn't want to attack you . . . or Alister." He was about to say more when Valon cut him off.

"Yeah, I know," the brunette snapped. "You're gonna tell me that you were under some kinda curse too!" He stood up, glaring at them both. "Well, I'm sick of your hocus-pocus excuses!" Valon was so extremely confused by now, and he still wanted the chance to go off by himself and sort everything out. It was all happening too fast. In order to accept that these two relative strangers were telling him the truth, he knew that he would need to accept that they both had been possessed in some way in the past, and at this point he did not know if he was willing to or could. It was hard for him to think of trusting them both, especially if Rocky had been putting on some sort of deception. How did he know who he could trust?

Raphael glared down at the floor. Alister half-turned away. Valon could see that they both looked hurt. He frowned, again recalling the events of his dream. These two had been laying so still on the ground, and Valon had been trying to wake them, without any success. And even now, as he did not know what to make of it all, a new thought occurred to him—what if they both had ended up dead then, during the battle with Rocky? How would he have felt? Something told him that he would not have been pleased at all. He knew that he had not wanted Rocky to hurt them. If they had been killed, Valon would have felt terrible. He did not want to say anything now that would be hurtful to them, despite his swirling perplexities.

"If that's the way you feel," Raphael spoke up now, his voice quiet and emotionless, "feel free to leave." He clenched his fists, frustrated. Was this it, then? It looked as though Valon was going to reject them in the end, even though Raphael could understand why he would. Why should Valon trust them, especially with the memories that were coming to light? Raphael assumed that Valon believed that they were part of a conspiracy that had less than legal motives. Perhaps Valon believed them to be hired assassins, with the memories the poor boy was being forced to remember.

"If we wanted to kill you," Alister added quietly, "we could have done it long ago. There wouldn't have been a reason for us to keep you alive. I could have simply killed you when I found you last night."

Valon muttered under his breath, knowing that they were right. He half-turned, glancing back as Rocky started to stir, and then clenched his own fist before turning back to face Raphael and Alister. If he was not supposed to be with them, then why did he feel as though it was so right? He had never felt a sense of belonging with Rocky's gang, but here he had known he was welcome. There was a connection that existed between the three of them, and even though Valon had so many questions, he could not deny their bond.

"Hey," he said finally, feeling somewhat humbled in comparison to the moment before, "I . . . I'm sorry, fellas."

Both Raphael and Alister looked at him with surprise. That sounded like the Valon they knew and remembered. Maybe there was still hope.

* * *

Tristan felt as though he was going out of his mind. Duke had left him and Ms. Kawai locked in the same room with several Orichalcos stones. The blasted things seemed to be whispering constantly, saying that if the humans would simply accept them, a way out could be found. As the hours dragged on with no sign of escape, Tristan felt tempted more than once to pick one up, but he knew that would only lead to disaster. 

Ms. Kawai was completely bewildered, and more than a little disturbed. Tristan had tried to explain the basics of the Doom organization and the Orichalcos to her during their imprisonment, but she had not wanted to believe him. Though, really, Tristan could not blame her. He did not want to believe it, either, but he had been forced to accept the truth of the matter long ago. Now it was hard for him to remember when he actually had not believed in the supernatural.

"And my daughter has been mixed up with all of this?" Ms. Kawai cried, narrowing her eyes irately. It sounded to her as though the past separation from Joey had been for Serenity's own good, if Joey was mixed up in such things on a regular basis.

Tristan swallowed and waved his hands, anxious to correct this. "Oh no, Ms. Kawai!" he exclaimed, most likely trying to look too innocent. "We try to make sure that she doesn't get involved." And as he spoke, images from Battle Ship, Noa's virtual fortress, and Alcatraz Tower swirled through his mind. Poor Serenity had definitely been along on her share of the bizarre adventures, but she had seemed to accept it well and to press forward steadfastly to help Joey and the others.

_Man, _he thought to himself, _how are we going to get out of here? And where did Duke—or whoever that guy is—run off to? I hope he's not stealing souls. . . . _But somehow Tristan had the very bad feeling that he was. _Maybe Yugi and the others will run into him! Darn it! If we could just get free, I could go warn them._

Now Ms. Kawai was frowning at him. It was apparent that she did not entirely believe him when he said that they had tried to make sure that Serenity did not get involved, but she let the matter drop for the moment because of the more pressing matters they had to deal with. "We need to find a way to escape before that boy comes back," she said with a frown, not able to help but hear as the Orichalcos stones began whispering again. She felt as if she would scream.

"I know, I know!" Tristan shot back. _Hey, wait. . . . Maybe the Orichalcos stones are sitting over the exit! Then, once we accepted them, we really would find the way out!_ With this thought in mind, he walked in determination over to where the stones were sitting and abruptly shoved all of them to the floor. _Ha, just as I thought!_ he said triumphantly to himself as he found a trapdoor. He reached to pry it up and then gave a frustrated cry as it was found to be quite stuck.

Ms. Kawai came over, examining it. "We don't have anything we can use to lift it," she remarked in exasperation. "Maybe we'll have to use those stones."

Tristan growled. "We can't!" he retorted, struggling harder with the door and then finally kicking it harshly with his foot. In the next instant he yelped in surprise as he plunged a hole into the old wood and almost fell over. Glaring down at what was left of the trapdoor, he pulled his foot out of the hole and then set to work ripping away the planks. "Come on!" he said when he was done, leaping into the hole.

Ms. Kawai frowned, staring down into it suspiciously. At last she relented and climbed in slowly, hoping that she would not regret this.

* * *

Siegfried found Leonhard curled up in a chair in a vacant conference room. The child was crying softly, obviously still heart-sick over what had happened earlier, and Siegfried's heart went out to him. He knew how horrible he would feel if things had been the other way around and he had been hurting Leonhard. 

Gently he reached out, laying a hand on Leonhard's shoulder. He did not speak at first, but instead waited for Leonhard to speak instead.

The boy started violently before looking up at him, his freckled face streaked with tears. "Elder brother," he choked out, in emotional pain, "how . . . how can you stay so calm about this? I . . . I hurt you. . . . I was going to kill you!"

Siegfried sat down in the chair next to him and looked into his eyes. "I knew you did not want to kill me," he replied, though he still did wonder if some of Leonhard's words under the Orichalcos's control were representative of how he truly felt, if only subconsciously. And though outwardly he was appearing calm about the incident, inwardly his emotions were twisting. What the child had said was true—Leonhard had been having trouble of late with being able to enter tournaments, and the company still had not regained as much of its reputation as Siegfried would have liked.

He knew he had not been a good brother, either. He had not spent much time with Leonhard for years, ever since his father had started training him to take over the company and rival KaibaCorp, when he had been thirteen. Three years later he had assumed control of the Von Schraider business and he and Leonhard had only drifted further apart. His increasing hatred toward Seto Kaiba and KaibaCorp had not helped.

He still felt somewhat guilty when he remembered how he had made Leonhard help him during the Grand Prix. He had had no right to do that to his brother, he knew. He had been so caught up in his anger and pain then, and he had not realized how strongly Leonhard felt about his moral values, but he did not consider those good excuses for his own behavior. He had told Leonhard that his brother needed to help him for the honor of their family, and to some extent he supposed that had truly been how he had felt. But more so, he knew, he had simply been angry at Seto and KaibaCorp and he had wanted his revenge. Why would Leonhard not be upset with him for all of that? It seemed so incredible, and impossible even, that the child could be so forgiving.

Leonhard looked sadly up into Siegfried's green eyes. "I . . . I don't," he agreed, his voice shaking, "but it was so strange, what was happening to me. . . . I felt like . . . like my heart was an open book, and this all-seeing thing was taking some of my feelings and . . . and twisting them. . . ." He hated admitting at all that anything he had said under the Orichalcos's control to Siegfried was true, but he knew that some of it had been, at least to some degree.

He did not truly blame Siegfried for his actions during the Grand Prix, but it was only human that over time he wondered why his brother had been driven to such illegal measures. And of course he had felt lonely when Siegfried had not been around much, though he understood how busy the man was. In the past, dueling in tournaments had occupied much of the boy's free time, but it truly had become difficult for him to even enter any tournaments these days. Many people were wary, wondering if Siegfried had a grudge against them and had sent Leonhard to spy. But nowadays, Siegfried had let Leonhard take a more active part in helping him, which the child was grateful for. He loved his brother and did not believe that Siegfried had been a terrible sibling.

Siegfried reached out with his left arm, pulling the boy close. "It's alright," he said quietly. "There was no real harm done."

"But you got hurt," Leonhard protested, "and I could've killed you. . . ." He wanted to be able to relax and to hug his brother, but he did not feel worthy.

"You wouldn't have killed me," Siegfried answered firmly. "That was not what you wanted to do. And I would have stopped you before things went that far." He kept his arm around Leonhard, wishing that his other arm was not in the sling.

Tentatively Leonhard snuggled a bit closer, blinking away the tears that had formed in his eyes. "Elder brother . . . do you believe what they were saying . . . about the Orichalcos?" he asked finally. In one way, he supposed, he wished that it were true—so that he would know what had tried to get control of him. But in another way, it all sounded so disturbing that he did not want it to be true. He thought that such magical properties only existed in fairy tales. But then, he had thought that real monsters did as well, and it appeared that he had been wrong about that.

Siegfried was silent for several moments, pondering on his reply. "It all sounds rather absurd," he said at last. "Don't you think so?"

Leonhard swallowed hard. "Yeah . . . it does," he sighed, "but I don't know how else to explain what happened to me. . . . Even though I didn't have one of those cards or stones, maybe it found a way to affect me anyway. Maybe . . . maybe just the light alone can. . . ." He knew that sounded all the more strange, if that was possible, but he remembered how he had seemed to blank out after gazing at the green light in the sky. If this Paradius corporation had returned, maybe they had found a way to enhance the Orichalcos's power.

Siegfried sighed too. "Well . . . I do believe that there are many unexplainable things in this world," he replied then. "And I have heard of this Paradius in the past. They were notorious for somehow holding a bit of stock in every major company in the world. Everyone was attempting to find out who they actually were, without luck." He, too, had searched and failed on a quest for information about the mysterious financial company after discovering that Paradius even held stock in his own business. There had been much suspicion throughout the businessworld on what Paradius desired, and on if the corporation was legitimate, but the CEO had never been seen and the questions concerning the business had remained unanswered. Now Siegfried had received some answers, but they were not anything like what he had imagined.

"What are we going to do, elder brother?" Leonhard asked timidly.

"We will figure out what is happening," Siegfried said firmly. "This is a problem that can not be ignored, especially now." He was determined to find out if Paradius had indeed been responsible for the strange light that had controlled Leonhard. If he found out that it had been, there would not be anywhere on earth that would hide the company from his wrath.

At last Leonhard hugged him, still not entirely feeling worthy but so thankful for his brother's trust in him. Some people, he was certain, might have thought that he actually had wanted to harm Siegfried. But Siegfried believed what Leonhard had said about the light controlling him. That meant so much to the boy.

Watching from the doorway, Pegasus turned away, shaking his head in amusement. "It's really amazing, how much different Siegfried is around his brother," he remarked to Seto, who was looking bored. "Usually he's so arrogant and pompous."

Seto grunted in annoyance. "Like you," he shot back.

Pegasus smirked. "My, my, someone has a short fuse today."

"You don't seem as upset about all of this as I thought you might be," Seto snapped then. "Your company is taking a lot of heat, especially since you have that business partnership with Von Schraider." He had to wonder if Pegasus had his own secret agenda again, the way he had always seemed to in the past. It was always next to impossible to know what the man was thinking.

"Well, it just wouldn't do much good to get upset, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus replied with a wave of his hand. "Maybe if you would settle down too, you'd be able to figure out what should be done." He started walked back down the hallway. "Anyway, let's go back to the conference room, shall we? I'm sure that Siegfried will come back shortly."

Seto followed after him, thinking of how much he was already despising this meeting.

* * *

The sight of a beam of Orichalcos light was never a welcome thing for people to see, and especially not if they were aware of what it meant. When Joey caught sight of one such beam somewhere in Domino City, he was extremely displeased and confused. He and the others had been searching for Tristan and Ms. Kawai for hours, and he was exhausted, but he experienced an adrenaline rush after discovering the unusual light. Immediately he began running toward it, his mind racing. 

_This is crazy! _he yelled silently. _What's that thing doing here? I thought the Orichalcos was gone 'cause Yugi and Atemu beat that Dartz freak!_ He knew nothing of Doom Reborn, as he had not had contact with the bikers in order to be informed of the organization. Seeing the beam now made him panic, and it also made him angry. Obviously an Orichalcos duel was in progress, and that meant that at the conclusion someone would be soulless.

It took him several moments to weave around buildings and streets to get to the location where the Orichalcos was, in the middle of the park. As he approached, the duel was just ending. He shuddered and narrowed his eyes as the loser fell to his knees, screaming in pain as his soul was ripped free and taken prisoner by the Orichalcos. His opponent, who had his back to Joey, gave a low chuckle and flipped his raven hair as he stepped forward to collect the person's soul card.

Joey clenched a fist, fury burning in his eyes at the cruelty of the scene and the uncaring nature of the victor. "Hey!" he yelled, running forward. "Whaddya think you're doing? You can't just go taking people's souls like that! And where'd you get the Seal of Orichalcos card? There shouldn't be any more of them around!" He reached out, about to grab hold of the person's shoulder when the other boy abruptly turned to face him.

For a moment Joey's mind went completely blank with disbelief. He could only stare at the dark-haired teenager who was standing before him and impatiently twirling a piece of hair around his finger. Was this some sort of zombie? Maybe it was all just a hallucination because he had been awake for so many hours. Yes, that sounded possible. Duke Devlin could not be alive, and he would not be using the ancient evil magic that had been indirectly responsible for taking his life. At least . . . Joey did not want to _think_ that he would.

"Who the heck are you?" he demanded finally.

Duke grinned wickedly. "Don't you recognize me, Joey?" he replied, stepping closer. "I thought you'd remember me. After all, I was trying to woo your sister."

Overcoming his shock, Joey reached and grabbed Duke's vest in anger. "You're dead!" he yelled. "And I thought you'd know better than to fool around with somethin' like the Orichalcos!" He gave the other boy a rough shake before feeling a chill go up his spine. This was not a hallucination. Duke was truly here, and he had just stolen someone's soul with the Orichalcos. Now Joey's mind was spinning, trying to sort out the bewildering and vexing situation. If Duke was here, and alive . . . then who had they buried? Or was this one possibly a fake? But what would be the reason for such a deception?

"The Orichalcos gave me life again, Joey," Duke answered then, breaking into the blonde boy's thoughts. "It's the reason why I'm not six feet under right now." He looked at him seriously before prying Joey's fingers away from his vest.

Joey's mouth dropped open. "What!" he cried. "That's just crazy!" He clenched a fist. "You got brainwashed or somethin', just like Mai did!"

Duke shook his head. "Sorry, Joey," he replied, looking for a brief moment like the Duke of the past. "You wouldn't understand." His eyes flickered for a moment, as if attempting to revert back to their usual emerald green instead of the crimson that they currently were, but after a moment the ruby color burned more brightly than before.

"I wouldn't understand! You bet I wouldn't understand!" Joey burst out. "Serenity would never want you now! You sold your soul to the Orichalcos!" He looked at Duke in disgust, still having a rough time comprehending that this had actually happened. He wanted to say that none of this was possible and that the Orichalcos could not restore life, but he was too perplexed to think rationally and instead was letting loose with the first things he thought of to say.

"Maybe," Duke hissed as he pushed past Joey to walk off, "the Orichalcos didn't give me any choice." With that he threw a smoke bomb to the ground and disappeared into the mists. The secret behind Duke being controlled by the ancient evil was an equally evil and dark one, and Duke was right—Joey would not have understood. It was too appalling to ever imagine.

Joey coughed, cursing silently at the trick the other boy had pulled. When the air cleared again several moments later, there was no sign of Duke in any direction. "Darn it!" he yelled then, stamping his foot on the ground. "He got away!" He clenched a fist. It would be pointless to attempt tracking him down now. Instead, Joey decided, he should call the medics for the poor man who had been defeated. He knew that the doctors would not be able to help the victim, but until his soul could be restored and he could be brought out of the coma, he might as well be somewhere comfortable.

As he looked for a telephone booth, his thoughts turned back to Duke's parting words. That had been even more bewildering. _What's he talking about?_ Joey asked himself. _You always have a choice! The Orichalcos can't get hold of you unless you let it!_ He frowned, deciding that after the medics came, he should go try to find Yugi, Serenity, and the others to let them know what had happened. Perhaps together they could find a solution.

_Hey . . . I wonder if the bikers would know what to do,_ he mused now as he found a booth and placed a quarter in the telephone. He had only seen the trio once after Doom had been stopped, but he now knew that they were living in Domino City. After Joey informed his friends of this bizarre development, he determined that maybe they should all go speak with the former "Musketeers of Doom."

* * *

Dartz was not extremely pleased at the discovery of Marik and Mokuba in the temporary Paradius building. He was certain that they would only complicate what he was attempting to do. Both of them were mere children in his eyes, and neither of them would know how to stand up against the Orichalcos and its forces. And he could sense that Marik once had possessed a terrible, dark energy. What did that mean? What manner of person was this? 

"Well?" Mokuba cried again. "I think we deserve an explanation, Dartz!" He clenched his fists, his blue-gray eyes flashing. He could never forget when he had been watching Yami Yugi and Seto duel against Dartz and Seto had lost. It had been so horrible, to see Seto laying so lifeless and still on the floor after his soul had been taken. Mokuba doubted that he would ever be able to forgive Dartz for that incident. And the man had most likely torn apart countless families over the millennia. Mokuba abhorred him. Even if he had been influenced by the Orichalcos, Mokuba did not think that was an excuse.

"Actually," Dartz retorted calmly, "I am the one who should be requesting an explanation. Neither of you have any idea what you will be up against if you continue this pointless venture." His golden eyes narrowed. "I, on the other hand, am more than familiar with the powers residing here." _My only question is, How much power has this organization gained as of yet? If they are responsible for releasing the Duel Monsters, then their influence must be steadily increasing. But they would need a large number of souls before this could happen. How would they have collected so many in such a short time? It took me centuries to gather all the souls I needed._

But of course, Dartz had worked on his own for most of that time. Only in recent years had he recruited warriors to assist him. If the new Paradius had many members, all working at once, perhaps they would be able to accomplish things much more quickly. Or . . . perhaps their tactics had changed. There were so many possibilities. Dartz supposed that they might have even discovered something new that he was not aware of.

Marik crossed his arms. "We're trying to get to the bottom of this mystery," he informed the man. "These Duel Monsters are disrupting everything!" The Egyptian's feelings about this enigmatic person were mixed. He could understand Mokuba's feelings and he also felt outrage for what Dartz had done in the past, but it seemed to him, now that he was seeing the Atlantean, that the man had a tortured soul—as did Marik himself. This intrigued him to the point that if the circumstances were different, he would have liked to have a deep conversation with Dartz.

"Indeed they are," Dartz retorted, "and the reason seems to be because the Doom organization has risen again." He looked down the long hall, seeing a Kuriboh happily bounce along around a corner, and then turned back to Marik. "But who are you?" he demanded. "I remember the younger one, but I have never seen you before." He would not have asked, if he had not sensed what he had about Marik. He wondered if this person would be another obstacle as he tried to complete his mission.

"He's my friend," Mokuba announced before Marik could answer. "Did you call my brother last night and tell him about Paradius coming back?" He glared up at Dartz, suspicion and distrust obvious in his eyes.

Dartz was growing more annoyed with the questions. "And what if I did?" he answered boredly, stepping past them to look into a nearby room. His eyes narrowed at what he saw. The conference room from the original Paradius had been reconstructed. This was an exact copy. Candles were burning dimly throughout the room, lighting up the long table and the company symbol, which was painted on the wall. The chair at the far end of the table was turned so it was not facing him. Dartz had the feeling that someone was sitting there.

He was correct. The chair slowly turned around now, revealing a figure in a dark cloak. As the entity looked up, the Orichalcos symbol burned brightly on its forehead, standing out against the shadows that were cast all over the room.

"Master Dartz," the figure purred. "You've come back, just as our current leader predicted. Welcome home."


	11. The ID Card

**Chapter Eleven**

Yugi stared at Joey in disbelief as the blonde boy related what had happened to him earlier. They were sitting in Yugi's living room, still waiting for the others to arrive. Joey had not wanted to tell the news while Serenity was around, even though he knew that he would have to let her know eventually. But he had decided that he wanted to tell her privately.

"So . . . Duke's using the Seal of Orichalcos?" Yugi said quietly, feeling tears coming to his eyes. That seemed too impossible to be true. How would something such as this have happened? There had to be more going on then there seemed to be on the surface.

"Yeah," Joey said bitterly. "I thought maybe he was a fake, but there wouldn't be any reason for someone to pretend to be him! It's gotta be true." He narrowed his eyes. "Face it, Yug—Duke's our enemy now." Idly he wondered what Tristan would say if he was there. Perhaps he would remind Joey of how determined he had been to rescue Mai from the Orichalcos's control, and of how he had never given up on her. But this situation seemed different, especially because of how absolutely bizarre it was.

Yugi looked down. "But . . . how could he come back from the dead, Joey?" he asked. "That doesn't make sense!"

"I thought so, too," Joey agreed, his voice and expression dark. "But Duke said somethin' weird about the Orichalcos giving him life again. I dunno what he meant." That was possibly the most baffling thing that had been said during their conversation. Joey had been mulling it over in his mind ever since, but he had not been able to figure it out at all. Had Duke meant it literally? Joey did not know that the Orichalcos could restore life; he had thought that it only destroyed life, and it had definitely destroyed whatever was left of Duke Devlin. Of course, it was generally assumed that Dartz had lived for so long because of the Orichalcos's effects on his body—but Dartz had not actually died a physical death before it had taken control of him, as Duke had before this strangeness had even come about.

Yugi looked up at Joey in shock. "Duke said that?" he exclaimed.

Joey blinked at him. "Do you get what he meant, Yug?"

Yugi sighed. "I wish I did," he answered slowly, and shuddered. "I don't understand it, Joey. But this sounds really serious." His violet eyes narrowed. "We have to find a way to save him! He's our friend. We can't just abandon him." The short boy stood up, wishing that he actually had a plan for how to go about the rescue mission. Joey's idea of contacting the bikers was a good one, but Yugi worried that even they would not know how to solve this.

"It looks to me like he's abandoned us!" Joey shot back, clenching a fist.

Even as he said this, Duke's parting words returned to him. _"What if the Orichalcos didn't give me any choice?"_ That baffled him as well. As he had thought to himself afterwards, there was always a choice. It simply could not have possessed him without him giving his permission. And Duke had certainly looked as though he had been enjoying himself when Joey had found him.

Yugi frowned. "We don't know the whole story," he protested. "We shouldn't pass judgement on him until we do know."

Joey started at Yugi's words and turned to look at him. The violet-eyed boy blinked in surprise and confusion.

"What?" he asked uncomfortably, wondering if Joey was angry at him for that statement.

"Nothin'," Joey muttered with a shrug. He hesitated before continuing, not certain how Yugi would take what he would say next. "You just . . . kinda reminded me of Atemu when you said that. . . ."

Yugi's eyes widened. Then he rubbed the back of his neck. He considered it an honor to be compared to Atemu, but he did not know if he truly deserved such a compliment. He could not ever imagine himself as being like Atemu, who had been such a close friend and whom Yugi had admired so much.

"Well," he said after a moment of silence, "it's true. Joey, I don't want to think that Duke's betrayed us. You said that he asked you 'What if the Orichalcos didn't give me any choice'. I think that has to be a key in what happened to him!" Yugi paced the floor for a moment before crossing to the window and looking out. "I'm . . . I'm just not going to give up on him," he said quietly as he gazed at the Duel Monsters wandering up and down the street. "Joey, he lost his life because of how upset that gang was with him for helping us defeat Doom! Do you really think he'd start using the Orichalcos of his own free will?" He turned to look back at his friend.

Joey growled. "I don't wanna think it, Yug," he answered. "It's just that . . . when stuff like this happens, sometimes it's hard to know what to think. And . . . well, I never really liked Duke. I mean, I was nice enough to him, but . . . I was just always afraid that he'd break Serenity's heart sometime. You know how he was with the women." But Joey knew that it was not just because of Serenity that he did not like Duke. Part of him, he supposed, had not forgiven the raven-haired boy for how he had humiliated Joey over national television. And Joey could not stand people who came off as arrogant and proud. That was why he did not like Seto Kaiba or Siegfried Von Schroider, either.

Yugi sighed, but before he could comment further the door opened and Téa, Ryou, and Serenity entered. All of them looked weary and distressed.

"We haven't been able to find Tristan or Mama anywhere!" Serenity said sadly after introductions were exchanged.

Téa sank into a chair, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "We've been all over the city," she added. "We even saw the Orichalcos once, but we were too far away to do anything." She found that she was not extremely astonished that the Orichalcos had appeared again. It was just one more bizarre thing to add to the list, and she was too exhausted to become visibly stressed over it. Everything that was happening was stressful.

Ryou sighed, letting Oreo jump to the floor from his arms. "I still don't entirely understand about the Orichalcos," he said slowly, "but I've been wondering if its reappearance could have anything to do with at least Tristan's disappearance. . . ." He trailed off, blushing slightly as he was unsure of how this thought would be received.

All eyes turned to the British boy in surprise. That was not something any of the others had considered before. It made a certain amount of sense, especially to Joey and Yugi. They exchanged a look before deciding that now was the time to explain what had happened to Joey earlier.

Téa tried to stifle a yawn. "Did you say you and Joey had something to tell us, Yugi?" she asked.

Both boys came to attention. "Oh! Yeah, we do," Yugi nodded.

Much to Serenity's confusion, Joey then led her out of the room to explain to her privately, while Yugi told a bewildered Téa and Ryou. All were stunned at the news, but of course Serenity was the most upset. She did not want to believe at first that it was true when Joey told the identity of the Orichalcos duelist, instead holding fast to the thought that the Duke Joey had seen had been a fake. Joey was frustrated, wondering if she would not accept that it was Duke until she learned the hard way. Serenity had not seen as many strange thing as some of them had, so perhaps that was also a factor—though Joey knew that it was mostly her feelings for Duke that made her deny this.

After Joey explained the details of their conversation, then Serenity was even more alarmed. But she, like Yugi, believed that if it was Duke, he was not doing this of his own free will. She insisted that they needed to find and rescue him, and she wondered if Duke would know where Tristan and Ms. Kawai were. Joey was momentarily startled by this concept, but then agreed that it was something they needed to look into—if they could find Duke again.

* * *

Dartz glared harshly at the person in the chair. "Who are you?" he demanded. The complete reconstruction of his Paradius office was something he had not expected to find. Obviously these people were highly familiar with the original Paradius, down to the most obscure details. A suspicion had already formed in Dartz's mind about who the people behind this were, and that suspicion was growing. 

The person gave a mock sigh. "You don't remember? I was one of your warriors." With that the hood was thrown back and a vaguely familiar young man was revealed. "I'm Richard."

Dartz sighed for real. "Oh yes. I remember you. You were one of the first of my followers to lose his soul. I thought you might have learned your lesson after that." He ignored Marik and Mokuba as they came up to him. Finding Richard here was not a pleasant surprise. It seemed that his suspicion—that some of his old followers had formed the organization—was proving true. Dartz was somewhat appalled by this, that even after losing their souls and not being able to be free until they let go of the darkness in their hearts, they would still believe in his ideals and Doom. Now he was starting to see the extent of the damage he had caused while under the Orichalcos's influence—and it disturbed him.

Richard frowned. "'Learned my lesson'?" he repeated. "Then the rumors are true? They say that you were given a second chance at life and that you've rejected the ways of the Orichalcos." He stood up, his eyes flashing. "I didn't want to believe it. When Vivalene said that you were coming back, I thought that you were going to lead us again. But Vivalene said that you were coming to fight against us!"

Both Marik and Mokuba visibly started. "Vivalene!" they both cried in disbelief.

Dartz had never heard of such a person. "Is that your new leader?" he wanted to know, for the time being ignoring Richard's other remarks, and Marik's and Mokuba's reactions.

The boy shook his head. "She's a commander in the organization, but no one has seen the top leader. She's always been shrouded in mystery. There's only one person who speaks to her, and not even that person actually sees her face to face." He crossed his arms. "She may want to see you, though, if you can duel your way to the top." That had actually been the plan all along. Richard was the first duelist that Dartz would face. Other, more skilled duelists awaited him on each floor. And if Marik and Mokuba insisted on staying with him, they would be forced to duel as well.

Dartz narrowed his eyes. He supposed that he should have expected something like this. It was a good thing that he had acquired a deck, just in case. "Fine," he said at last. "If that's the way you want it, then we shall duel. But I warn you—you will lose your soul once again."

"I'll have served my purpose," Richard replied. "That's what you taught us—that we all have to serve our purpose to bring the Leviathan to the world, and that it's an honor for any of us to have our souls taken to nourish it with!"

"Yes, well . . . most of what I told you was a delusion," Dartz answered, taking his deck out as a duel disk was shoved toward him.

"You're delusional now!" was Richard's angry response. "You turned away from everything you believed in, and for what? It was that Pharaoh who did this to you! The Pharaoh whose soul you were trying to take ended up corrupting you in the end!"

Marik gazed at him, somewhat disturbed. This boy had the same devotion to Doom now as he had in Egypt, when Marik had defeated him. He had not recognized Richard at first, but now he did. It amazed him, as it did Dartz, that Richard still was loyal to Dartz's ideals. _He's a fool!_ Marik cried in his mind. _Dartz was right—he should have learned his lesson._

Mokuba bit his lip, having to wonder if it actually was true about Dartz not accepting the teachings of the Doom organization anymore. It seemed too strange to be true, but even if it was, Mokuba did not know that Dartz was trustworthy. "It's really sad about these people," he admitted quietly to Marik. "Dartz tricked most of them into joining with him after they'd suffered a lot and lost their families. He promised them that they'd rebuild the world into some kind of paradise." He looked around the room nervously as the lights came on in order for the duel to begin, wondering what was going to happen to them. Richard had not acknowledged their presence, but Mokuba was certain that he was aware that they were there.

Marik was about to reply when Richard suddenly looked their way, as if reading Mokuba's thoughts. "Don't think the two of you can sneak away!" Richard announced. "If I win, I'll be dueling both of you next." His eyes narrowed. "And if I lose, there'll be duelists ready for you on the next level, as well as for _Master_ Dartz." With that he looked back to Dartz. He had spoken the word "Master" in a demeaning way, as if now he felt that Dartz was the furthest thing from being a good master and leader. And that was most likely how he did feel.

The turquoise-haired man was frustrated. "Leave them out of this," he grumbled, again wishing that they had not been so curious as to enter the building. The last thing he wanted to do was to have to worry about keeping them from losing their souls or from causing him inconveniences.

"It's too late for that now," Richard answered, activating his duel disk. "What happens to them from here on out is their own fault, so don't concern yourself with them. I'm going to take you down, and then you can serve the great Leviathan by nourishing it as you did in the past!"

Dartz narrowed his eyes. "We'll see," he answered coldly. As usual, Richard's over-confidence would likely be his downfall. He was an above-average duelist, but Dartz was much more skilled and had more experience. And he had no intention of losing. He would make certain that this insane plan did not progress.

"I never thought I'd actually want Dartz to win," Mokuba muttered.

Marik crossed his arms. This was going to be an intense duel, indeed. And no matter who won, he and Mokuba would have to duel someone. He just hoped that Mokuba _could_ duel in an environment such as this. Occasionally the two friends had dueled for fun, but Mokuba had never been exposed to dueling for serious, life-and-death reasons. He had only stood by and watched as others were.

"Are you ready for whatever might happen?" the Egyptian asked quietly.

Mokuba clenched a fist. "Yeah!" he vowed. The thought of dueling made him nervous, but he would go through with it if he had to. _I have to be strong enough to do this,_ he told himself silently. _I can't let Marik down . . . or Seto._ He knew how distraught Seto would be if Mokuba ended up losing the future duel and his soul. He refused to let that happen.

Marik smiled slightly. "We'll win," he said firmly, laying a hand on Mokuba's shoulder. He could sense the boy's nervousness, but he also knew how determined Mokuba was. He was certain that they could win, if they put their minds to it.

He was not extremely pleased with the idea of dueling for high stakes, either. He had not done so since he had been fueled by his hatred and pain during Battle City. The thought of seriously dueling again now brought back bad memories, but he narrowed his eyes and forced them back. That was the past. This was the present, and the circumstances were different. Like Mokuba, he would duel if it had to be done.

* * *

Raphael sighed to himself as he leaned back on the couch with Liu. The police had now taken Rocky away with them, and a doctor had been called to examine Raphael's wound and make certain that it was not poisoned. It was not, much to Raphael's relief, but he still felt uneasy for some reason that he could not quite determine. Would Rocky truly be that easy to defeat? Raphael was afraid that the gang leader had something else planned. Maybe the other members would come looking for him and try to take revenge on the bikers. Raphael was not looking forward to another fight, especially when now he needed to stay off his leg as much as he could. And Alister's ankle was not completely healed, either. If they were attacked by an entire gang, Raphael doubted that they would be much help fighting them off. 

He was startled out of his thoughts as the telephone rang. He was about to get up and answer it when Alister stumbled into the room and lifted the receiver. As the redhead spoke, Raphael tried to determine who it was that he was talking to. Raphael was completely confused, especially when he heard Alister ask if they'd questioned Rocky "about that."

Alister looked confused himself as he hung up the telephone a moment later. "That was intriguing," he remarked, easing himself into a nearby chair. Upon seeing Raphael's questioning look, Alister continued, "The police found Valon's identification card among Rocky's belongings when they searched him."

Raphael was shocked, to say the least. "Why on earth would he have that?" he demanded. That meant that Rocky must have taken the card from Valon two months before, when the gang had found him on the highway. It meant that he had always known who Valon was, but had never said so. It meant that the fact that Rocky had shown up at the bikers' house made perfect sense. Of course he would go there, since he knew that was where Valon belonged. He had probably decided that no stone should be left unturned and that he should check to see if Valon had possibly gone home. Now the remarks Rocky had made upon arriving made perfect sense.

Alister shook his head. "The police don't know," he answered. "They tried to question him about it, but he only cursed at them." The news angered him. He had realized what Raphael had, that Rocky had been withholding the information of Valon's identity. But Alister could see no reason for the purple-haired man's actions. Why would he want to keep Valon around that badly? He could easily find someone else to be in his gang. But . . . what if Rocky was working for someone? Alister frowned. What if this someone else wanted Valon for some reason and Rocky had been keeping him for this person?

Upon hearing a noise nearby, both Alister and Raphael turned to see Valon standing in the doorway. The brunette looked stunned and then angry, his blue eyes flashing from behind the messy brown bangs.

"I take it you heard me," Alister remarked flatly. Valon had been wandering all over the house since Rocky had been taken away, and now had appeared to have come from the back part of the main floor, where there was a storage room. Alister had assumed that Valon was either trying to let off steam or that he was checking to see if anyone else was waiting to attack, so Alister had left him to his own devices.

Valon clenched a fist. "I can't believe that he knew all this time," he growled. "I never thought he knew anything about me at all, and here he was keepin' it all from me!" He looked from Alister to Raphael. "He was using me. Well, I don't take kindly to that."

Raphael growled. "I hope you're not planning to take revenge," he commented. _The last thing we need right now is for Valon to lose his temper!_

Valon hit the wall before coming over and sitting down as well. "I'd sure as heck like to," he muttered. _I know I didn't exactly trust Rocky, but even at that I must've trusted him too much. This couldn't have happened if I hadn't been stupid enough to figure that he didn't know anything about me!_ He glared at the floor. The identification card would tell him his name, his age, where he lived, and other such basic information. But that did not seem to matter. Valon was certain, deep down, that this truly was where he was supposed to be—in spite of the confusion and bewilderment that he still felt. And even though part of him yet wondered if he should leave, another part screamed that if he did, he would never find any of the answers he was seeking, and that he would regret his departure.

"Let's think about this," Alister spoke up then, looking from Valon to Raphael and back again. "Rocky must have been working for someone. That's really the only explanation that's logical. But who could he have been working for?"

"Who knows," Valon snapped, running a hand through his bangs. "It could've been anyone! I dunno who'd have an interest in me for some reason, though." He frowned. "Why would someone want me hangin' out in a gang? Would they want me to end up in prison or something?" He looked from Alister to Raphael, and then tried to push back any thoughts of suspicion in his mind. It would not have been either of them. He was tired of feeling as though he could not trust them. Without even asking them, it seemed obvious to Valon that they were the ones from his dream memory. Within it, he had been devastated over what seemed to be their deaths. And even though they were quite alive, that did not mean that he could not have thought that they were dead.

Raphael rubbed his eyes. "It's more likely that it was someone like your parents," he said as Liu began to knead against his chest. He glanced down at her with amusement before then remembering that they had not told Valon about his parents. His remark would mean little to the brunette and probably would only serve to confuse him further.

Indeed, Valon gave him an incredulous look. "Why would my parents do somethin' like this?" he demanded.

Before anyone could answer, the doorbell rang and startled them. Then Raphael grunted. "That's probably the police officer, returning your identification card," he remarked, and tried to get up. He did not especially want to, but he felt that he should answer the door anyway. Someone would need to.

Alister got up first, however, and reached the door. He blinked in surprise when he checked through the peephole and saw who was standing next to the doorstep.

"Who is it?" Raphael asked as both he and Valon looked to their red-haired friend.

Alister began unlocking the door. "Yugi and his friends," he announced.

* * *

The businessmen soon resumed their meeting and spoke for a while longer about the certain things they could try to do in their quest to resolve the Duel Monsters problem, but Seto remained firm that Paradius was where they would most likely find answers. Pegasus was inclined to agree, but since Siegfried had not had experience with the company he was not certain what to think. However, he recalled again how shrouded in mystery Paradius had always been, and the chance to uncover some of the mysteries appealed to him. 

"But," he objected, idly playing with a rose in the centerpiece of the table, "where would we begin such a search? This Paradius company is in San Francisco. Are we to take our quest down there?" Not that he would necessarily mind, but if the company was stationed in San Francisco, how would it send so many swarms of Duel Monsters upon Domino City? It seemed more likely to him that the culprit would have to have a local headquarters. He had seen many more monsters roaming loose through Domino City than in Germany, though he supposed that did not mean much. There could be branches of the Paradius company all over the world, from which they could send out their holographic technology—or whatever it was. He did not know that this was the case with Paradius, however. If there had been multiple branches worldwide, then it seemed that they would all be deserted now. But he supposed that someone could be reviving all of them.

"Well," Pegasus responded nonchalantly, "if all else fails, then yes, I suppose so. Unless anyone else has a better solution?"

Seto grunted. "They could be secretly operating from somewhere in the city," he announced, and he was actually quite certain that this was the case.

Pegasus clapped his hands. "That's brilliant, Kaiba-boy!" he smiled, though he himself had been thinking of the possibility all along.

"I must wonder," Siegfried mused, enjoying Seto's look of irritation as Pegasus purposely tried to annoy him and obviously succeeded, "are these Duel Monsters . . . real?" He had been observing two dragons battling in the sky through the window, and their bleeding battle wounds did not look like anything he had seen in holograms before. And he could not help remembering Leonhard's expression of awe from earlier. He had to wonder if his brother would greatly mind if the beasts were real.

Pegasus was about to reply when a bit of blood splashed on the outside of the window. He frowned at it in distaste. "It certainly does look that way, doesn't it," he answered. Of course he believed in the reality of the creatures, and of the Shadow Games. He himself had taken part in many Shadow Games in the past, when he had embarked on his futile quest to bring his beloved Cecelia back to life. He would actually be quite relieved if he could find out that the Duel Monsters now were only holograms, but he doubted this very much.

"Actually, Siegfried," he said now, glancing at the pink-haired man with curiosity, "you've most certainly sparked my imagination up! And . . . well, just supposing that the Duel Monsters are real, what would you think about that?" He followed Siegfried's gaze to the couch in the corner, where Leonhard had curled up and fallen asleep.

Siegfried set the rose back in its vase and leaned forward over the table. "That," he said calmly, "would largely depend on what it was that they wanted. For example, if they wish to wipe out humanity and claim Earth for themselves, I doubt that I would be pleased." He smirked as he said this, letting it be known that he was not seriously considering the possibility.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Let's forget about whether they're real or not," he said coldly. "We have more important matters to tend to."

That was when the plate glass window was abruptly shot out. Particles of glass flew everywhere, and the businessmen struggled to shield themselves from the sharp edges. When peace had descended once again and they dared to look up, all were stunned to see an unusual, red-cloaked Dark Magician standing there. His skin was a soft tan and his hair was blonde enough so as to appear white. He smirked at them and then raised his staff as Siegfried crossed the room to make certain that his brother had not been cut by the flying glass.

"What do you want?" Seto demanded of the newcomer, annoyed at this strange interruption.

"This building is being taken over," the Dark Magician replied with a smile.

"Taken over?" Pegasus cried indignantly, still trying to get over the shock of hearing a Duel Monster talk. "By who?" He rose, glaring at the mage standing before them. "I'll have you know that you have no right to barge in here like this!" Industrial Illusions was his company. He was not about to let some odd Dark Magician take control of it.

The Dark Magician's reply was to forcefully blast Pegasus across the room as the man gave a cry of surprise and pain. Seto, Siegfried, and the half-awake Leonhard were all startled by such a show of brutality. They looked from Pegasus's dazed form to the strange creature that was slowly advancing before suddenly claiming the amber-eyed man's chair for himself.

"By all of us," he answered smoothly. "My master will be highly pleased."

Seto snarled. "And just who is your master?" he wanted to know.

The Dark Magician smiled, releaving pearly white, threatening teeth. "Arkana, of course," he declared.


	12. The Truth

**Chapter Twelve**

_He was struggling desperately against the Orichalcos, but it seemed that it was winning in spite of his efforts. Valon and Raphael were both breathing heavily, obviously in pain from his vicious attacks. He was panic-stricken. If he could not break free, then he would rather be dead. If this continued for much longer, his friends would be killed._

No!_ he screamed inwardly. _I can't let this happen! I can't be responsible for the deaths of anyone else I care about!_ He continued to fight the Orichalcos, feeling its talons clawing at his heart and soul and always hearing his friends' grunts and cries of pain in the background. He could barely stand it. He tried to speak, but nothing came out. His voice had been swallowed up in his hysteria. Then he heard something strange, something that he had never heard before._

"_Alister," came the whisper of a soft, gentle voice, "let me help you. I live only for you." _

_He blinked, bewildered. "Who are you?" he demanded, soon realizing that he was not speaking aloud. "Where are you? I don't see you." He was alone in this battle, and yet he could hear this other voice so distinctly. It was definitely not the Orichalcos. It sounded like his own voice in some ways, but decidedly different in others. It sounded more innocent and not as deep as his own._

"_I live in your heart. Let me out, and I'll help you. You want to die. I want to fulfill that. I'll kill you! I'll kill you, Alister, and then you'll never have to worry that you'll hurt your loved ones again."_

"Alister?"

The redhead snapped to attention as Valon abruptly poked him in the arm. Everyone in the room was looking at him in confusion. He frowned and grunted. "What?" he said flatly.

"You spaced out on us, mate," Valon retorted. He was disturbed by what Yugi and his friends had come to tell them—about that same strange force that had controlled Alister now having taken control of another young man. But what disturbed Valon the most was that the new victim was supposed to have died months before. He had turned to see what Alister thought of things, only to discover that the redhead had been staring off into the distance with a haunted look in his gray eyes.

Alister shook his head. "I heard what was being said," he replied. And he had. Being told about Duke's battle with the Orichalcos had been what had suddenly brought the horrible memories once again of dueling his friends on the KaibaCorp roof. But where had that voice come from? He frowned. He never recalled having heard that voice during the duel. And it sounded familiar, actually, as if he had heard it somewhere recently. But where could that have been? Its words had been disturbing, to say the least, and made little sense. If Alister had truly died, that in itself would have hurt his friends.

Raphael glanced at Alister, frowning curiously, before turning his attention back to Yugi and the others. Before Valon had poked Alister, Joey had asked if the bikers knew anything about the Orichalcos and Doom rising to power again. "There is a Doom Reborn organization," the blonde man now said slowly. "That's probably what your friend's ended up joining." He crossed his arms. "But the Orichalcos bringing someone to life is something I never heard of before." It sounded absolutely absurd, if Raphael was to be frank.

Joey glared at Raphael. "There's a Doom Reborn!" he cried indignantly. "Why the heck didn't you guys tell us earlier!"

Raphael grunted at him while Alister raised an eyebrow. "Is there a reason why we should have?" Alister said finally.

"Because Yugi, Kaiba, and yours truly had the three Legendary Dragon cards!" Joey shot back. "We couldn't have toppled the old Doom without their help!"

"But you don't have them anymore," Raphael pointed out.

"And the three of us were actually in Doom," Alister said flatly. "None of you were."

Yugi swallowed hard, seeing how angry Joey looked. "Come on, guys, let's not argue," he pleaded. "We need to figure out how to help Duke!"

Joey growled, but reluctantly quieted. He was still fuming inwardly. What if this could have been prevented if the bikers had told them about Doom Reborn? He knew that it was not likely that it could have been, but there was always the possibility. And he hated it when possibly vital information was not shared.

"First, we kinda need to find this bloke Duke!" Valon spoke up.

"Where was he when you saw him?" Raphael asked, looking to Joey.

"It was in the park," Joey replied. "Then the idiot set off a smoke bomb and disappeared!" He slammed his fist into his palm. "He could be anywhere by now! And maybe he even knows where Tristan and Ma are!"

"Hey! I did notice something weird when we were going to Yugi's," Téa suddenly exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot this, but we were going past that old building where there was a fire, and it looked like a lot of Duel Monsters were hanging around it!" Now everyone was looking at her. She sighed. "I guess I didn't remember because right at that moment we had to deal with a Chaos Mage that wound up in our way," she explained sheepishly.

"I know the building you mean," Alister said. He passed it all the time when he was going to the group home to visit the children. Now that Téa mentioned it, it did seem to him as though there had been an unusually large concentration of Duel Monsters in that area. But he had not taken special notice at the time because the entire city had an unusually large Duel Monsters population.

"Let's go check it out!" Joey declared, leaping up. Without waiting for anyone else to reply, he was running out the door.

Raphael sighed, shaking his head. "It does sound like we should investigate," he remarked slowly, "but we shouldn't get in over our heads." And he was not looking forward to having to walk on his leg, but if the others were going he would struggle to go as well. He certainly had dealt with far worse injuries in the past, after all.

"We're already in over our heads," Valon muttered, feeling overwhelmed. He ran his hands through his wild hair before standing up and going to the door. Then he turned back, looking at everyone else. "Well? Are you coming or not?" It did sound like an adventure, albeit a strange one. But Valon was always up for an adventure, and now that he was starting to settle in with his friends again, he was slowly relaxing and again resembling the Valon they remembered.

Alister grunted, getting up slowly and looking to Raphael, who was also getting to his feet. He petted Liu before heading to the door, favoring his uninjured leg. Yugi and the others then got up and followed as well.

* * *

Seto narrowed his eyes as he watched the red Dark Magician recline in Pegasus's chair. The creature's words meant nothing to him. "Arkana?" he repeated in annoyance. "Who on earth is that?" _Somebody shoot me. I'm talking to a card._

Pegasus slowly sat up, feeling dizzy. He glared at the intruder, but did not have the strength to stand and rout him away. Not that he would have any success even if he did have the strength. He would most likely only be blasted again.

"Arkana is the Master of Magicians, or so he likes to call himself," the Dark Magician smirked, crossing his legs and then laying his staff across them. "He has a very exaggerated opinion of his abilities, but maybe it's all a facade." He shrugged. "Either way, I'm superior to him and his skills."

Leonhard stared at him, his hazel eyes wide. Not only was this a real Duel Monster, but it was talking. He had never thought such a thing could really happen. Suddenly he felt as though he was experiencing a real-life fairy tale. But so far it certainly had not been as fun as he had dreamed about. It had been more like a nightmare.

Seto snorted. "If you're so superior, then maybe you should stop working for this Arkana person," he said flatly. "He's probably only dragging you down."

"Oh, he'll get his, soon enough," the Dark Magician smiled. "I still need to _repay_ him for some things he did in the past." He sighed, then leaned back and continued to relax. "Anyway, even as we speak, the building's being taken over by my cohorts on every floor. It will all belong to us soon enough. Then the Duel Monsters will take over this dimension!"

Seto was not impressed. "Oh please. If you think we're all just going to lay down and submit to you and your little cronies, then you're in for a rude awakening." He looked around for something he could use to throw at the Dark Magician to distract him. If they could get the staff away from him, then he would (hopefully) not be able to blast anyone again. When he failed to find anything that could be thrown, he finally decided to lunge.

The Dark Magician cried out in surprise, unprepared for the attack, and he and his borrowed chair toppled to the floor along with Seto. Then both Siegfried and Pegasus, recovering from the shock of what was going on, jumped into the fray and grabbed for the staff. Siegfried reached it first and snatched it up from where it had tumbled onto the carpet, while Seto and the Dark Magician rolled across the floor as they wrestled. At last Seto delivered a stunning blow and got up while the Duel Monster was still dazed. "Come on," he snapped, heading for the door.

"Where exactly are we going, Kaiba-boy?" Pegasus frowned as he, Siegfried, and Leonhard got up to follow him.

Seto grunted. "Away from this madhouse," he retorted. "I want to know if that Dark Magician was telling the truth when he said that the building had been overrun." And if it was true, then they would fight back. Seto was not going to allow Duel Monsters to control his destiny. The humans were supposed to control the cards, not the other way around!

"I wouldn't doubt him if I were you," Pegasus responded nervously as they got into the hall and discovered an entire row of various mages glaring at them.

Seto narrowed his eyes, watching as all of their opponents raised their staffs. They only had the one staff that had been purloined from the Dark Magician. That would not be enough to fight against all of these.

* * *

Mokuba breathed heavily, bending over as he stared blankly at the floor and gripped his knees. He and Marik had just finished their second Orichalcos duel, and he did not know how much more he could take. The Orichalcos made it all much more taxing than it ordinarily would be, and the monster's attacks had been real. Mokuba had never experienced something such as that before. He felt dizzy and almost sick. But he knew that he could not give up. Marik needed him. They had been making a good team. 

"Are you alright, my friend?"

Mokuba looked up, seeing Marik bending down to look at him with concern. Weakly the child nodded, but then quickly ceased when he discovered that his body did not appreciate the action. "Yeah," he said then, managing a shaky grin. "I'm okay, Marik. Just give me a minute." He took a deep breath and then straightened up. "Did Dartz go on ahead?"

Marik nodded slowly. "He did," he replied. "And I'm afraid we need to as well." He narrowed his eyes and clenched a fist. Whether Mokuba would admit it or not, Marik could see that his young friend could not endure the darkness of the Orichalcos much longer. Not even Joey Wheeler had been able to get through two consecutive Orichalcos duels, though it had been somewhat different in his case, as he and Valon had been repeatedly attacking each other directly and therefore, getting more seriously injured than usual. Marik supposed that made a lot of the difference here, as Mokuba had not had that to deal with. He had not been directly attacked any more than usual during a duel.

Mokuba sighed, knowing that Marik was right. "How many floors are there?" he wondered. "I mean, this building is huge! Are we going to be going all the way to the top?" Then a new thought entered his mind and his eyes widened worriedly as he gasped. "Marik! This building probably isn't all that sturdy after the fire. What if all the Orichalcos duels cause it to collapse?"

Marik frowned deeply. He had considered that possibility as well, especially after Mokuba had told him of how the old Paradius headquarters—which had actually been quite a strong and secure building—had caved in after Atemu's second duel with Raphael. It was a miracle that all of those who had been present had managed to get out of that disaster safely. "You're right," he said then, glancing down the hall in annoyance. "These fools probably haven't even stopped to consider that. Or if they have, they don't care. But they'd die, too, if the building gave way." He wondered if they thought that their Orichalcos would protect them. Though he wanted to think that they would not be so delusional, he supposed that anything was possible—especially considering what their ultimate goals were.

A sound from behind them caused them both to swiftly turn around in defense. To their astonishment, a panel moved in the wall and revealed Tristan and Ms. Kawai. Both appeared disheveled and weary, and Tristan looked as though he had been busy beating people up. Marik raised an eyebrow. He was about to speak when Mokuba beat him to it.

"What happened to you guys?" he exclaimed, wondering who the woman was. He had never met Joey and Serenity's mother.

"We had a few nasty encounters with this place's goons," Tristan replied, looking just as surprised. "But what are you two doing here? Did Duke bring you here?"

Marik and Mokuba gawked at him. "Why would he bring us here?" Marik asked then.

Explanations were quickly exchanged, with each party being stunned by the other's story. Then Mokuba said that they needed to get to the next level for their next duel. Tristan frowned at him.

"You don't look so good, Mokuba," he said, voicing Marik's opinion as well. "You should probably sit it out." He and Ms. Kawai had originally gone down to a lower level of the building, but upon not finding a way out they had been forced to go up several flights of stairs that they had discovered. Then they had reached the part of the building that was above ground. From there they had finally stumbled upon the floor where Marik and Mokuba were.

Mokuba narrowed his eyes stubbornly. "I'm okay!" he cried. "And I can't leave Marik to face the next duel alone. They said we had to duel together, anyway." Figuring that ended the matter, he turned to head upstairs.

Marik frowned too, moving swiftly to catch up with him. "I would never forgive myself if something happened to you," he said quietly, "and Kaiba would never forgive me either. Let's be rational and think about this. You have never experienced either Shadow Games or the Orichalcos firsthand, and suddenly you were forced into two Orichalcos battles. That you made it through them both, one right after the other, is an amazing show of strength." He smiled gently as the child looked up at him. "However," he continued, "showing one's strength doesn't mean being completely rash and illogical. Rishid tells me that sometimes, when I let my temper get ahead of me. I know you want to help me, Mokuba, but right now you could help me best by staying on the sidelines and recovering from your experience."

Mokuba sighed, glowering at the floor. "I'd probably just be holding you back, anyway," he mumbled. He knew that Marik was right. It was foolish for him to try to continue dueling, even though he wanted to. If his soul was lost, then the others would have to work to set him free when they needed to be concentrating on other things.

"You've been a great help to me, my friend," Marik said firmly and sincerely. "I just don't want to see you further endangering yourself when the Orichalcos's dark energies have weakened your strength." He laid a hand on Mokuba's shoulder before passing him to go into the elevator.

Just before he did, a tremor shook the building and he yelped, falling backward to the floor in surprise. Mokuba, Tristan, and Ms. Kawai were also thrust down—not having expected that at all.

"What was that?" Ms. Kawai cried indignantly when it had finally ceased a moment later.

"An earthquake, most likely," Marik growled. The building swayed dangerously and Mokuba's dire prediction came to his mind again as he forced himself into a sitting position. "And it just may bring this building down!"

* * *

Dartz, in the middle of a duel with Vivalene, felt it too. Both he and she were thrust back against the walls of the Orichalcos barrier until the shaking passed. Then they slowly got up again, looking intently at each other. Dartz found Vivalene to be an extreme annoyance, while she was amused and intrigued by him. Each had to admit that the other was a skilled duelist. But after a second tremor, Vivalene decided that enough was enough. It was not wise to continue at the present time. 

"I'm just afraid that this building won't hold much longer, darling," she purred, drawing a card and laying it on the field. "And I want to live to take your soul another day. So, go Destruction Ring! This duel is a draw!" _It's a good thing I had that card laying around in my hand,_ she thought to herself. _I knew it would prove its use at some point._

Again Dartz was thrown back. He growled low, feeling the Orichalcos vanish and sending him crashing directly to the floor. "Wait!" he yelled at Vivalene, who he assumed was making her great escape. It was hard to see through the light generated from the blast, but he doubted that she intended to linger around.

"Oh, we'll meet again," she smirked in reply. "In fact, I'm looking forward to it. Just think about your old hideout and then come to me!" With that she leaped out of the window and onto a rope ladder hanging down from a helicopter that was hovering nearby. She blew Dartz a kiss as her vehicle gained altitude. He would survive, she was certain. He was clever enough to find the way out. And if not, well, then she had greatly overestimated him.

He glared after her as he got up, contemplating her words. Was she referring to the Paradius headquarters in San Francisco, which was being rebuilt—or did she mean the Orichalcos temple? Were they rebuilding that as well? Just how powerful was this organization? Memories of their conversation upon meeting each other came to his mind.

_Vivalene smirked, turning to face Dartz and lacing her fingers together as she leaned over the desk. "I knew you'd defeat my lackeys, darling," she remarked, obviously enjoying herself. "Now I'm the last warrior standing in the building."_

_Dartz frowned, feeling immeasurably annoyed. "Then you are the one who started all of this?" he demanded. She was the one who had reorganized Doom? He studied her, thinking that something seemed off. She had the cunning, but not the sincere motives of her followers. That was obvious just from her expression and eyes. Her reasons for being involved were selfish ones._

_Vivalene laughed. "Oh no!" she replied. "That was someone else . . . someone whom you will most likely meet very soon. I'm one of her most trusted subordinates." She stood up and came around her desk. "If you can defeat me, then the helicopter outside will take you to meet her. I must say, she's been very interested in the idea of meeting you. She has so many questions—first and foremost, why you decided to abandon the teachings of the Orichalcos."_

_Dartz had to admit that he was relieved to know that Vivalene was not the leader. He had been sincere in his attempts at purifying the world, even though he had been misguided, and he did not like the thought of someone taking the Doom organization and using it for selfish goals. And yet of course that was what Vivalene was doing, whether she was the ultimate leader or just a trusted subordinate. He glared at her as she got her duel disk ready._

_Her eyes lit up as she drew her first hand. "Well, look at this. I have the Seal of Orichalcos right on my first try." She sneered at him. "This duel is definitely going to be interesting."_

Dartz was not looking forward to meeting her again. All throughout their duel she had flirted with and taunted him. She was one of the most irritating women he had ever met. And not even pointedly telling her that he was married had deterred her. She had only replied that his wife was not there and that it could be ages before he would find her again, only making herself all the less desirable to him. He was determined that he would find Phiona again, no matter what it took.

He still found it strange, that when he, Ironheart, and Chris had been restored to the mortal world, Phiona had not been with them. He had not seen her for so many thousands of years. He wanted to hold her in his arms again, to caress her, to kiss her and tell her how much he loved her. But would that ever come to pass? Would he ever see his beloved again? Would Chris ever have her mother back?

These thoughts tumbled over in his mind as he quickly went down the stairs. He could feel the building trembling underneath him and his eyes narrowed. There was no time to remain here. He would have to hope that the answers he wanted were elsewhere. And he had to see what had happened to Seto Kaiba's younger brother and the boy he had been with, as much as he would rather hurry off and try to find where Vivalene had gone.

He had to stop at two different floors before he found the boys. When he did, they were about to run into the stairwell themselves along with Tristan and some woman he had never seen before. They ended up having a collision and all toppling to the floor.

"What on earth is happening?" Marik cried, not having expected that to happen, or for Dartz to come back down.

"The building is coming down," Dartz answered, getting up and offering a hand to Ms. Kawai out of politeness. She accepted his help, but wondered who this latest strange person was with the knee-length turquoise hair. Honestly, it seemed to her as though Serenity's friends associated with the most bizarre people. In fact, her friends themselves seemed rather bizarre.

"Yeah? Well, tell us something we don't know," Tristan muttered. He, Marik, and Mokuba also got up as the floor vibrated again.

Dartz ignored them and headed for the stairwell door. "Follow me and I will lead you back out, unless you would rather stay behind and die here," he said dryly, looking back briefly at them before continuing on his way.

"Oh, he's a real cheery guy," Tristan remarked in annoyance as he and the others followed. "Look, don't you think we've got better things to do than to let a psycho nutcase who tried to feed the world to a big snake lead us around now?" No matter what Dartz claimed to be doing now, Tristan did not feel that he had to trust him. He had been one of their most dangerous enemies because of his sincerity in his mission. Throughout every horrible thing he had done, he had not been trying to be wicked or cruel—he had honestly believed that what he had been doing would be for the good of the world. Tristan was highly disturbed by him, and from Mokuba's expression, he felt the same way.

"We don't have much choice," Marik spoke up quietly. "But if he starts leading us astray, we can overpower him. I don't think it's likely, though. We're in a stairwell. There aren't many things he could do to us in a stairwell." And somehow, he believed that Dartz would do them no harm. When all was said and done, he hoped to have a chance to speak with this enigma.

* * *

Duke stood outside the building, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he felt another tremor in the area. "Uh oh," he muttered, but he smirked as he said it. "I don't think that burned out joke is going to last much longer." He crossed his arms, but then grimaced as a pain racked his body. In the next moment he was doubled over, coughing violently as he stared blankly at the asphalt. 

Memories flashed through his clouded mind then. He remembered being beaten by the angry gang and giving the warning desperately to Yugi with his last breath. Then everything had gone dark. He had known nothing for what seemed an eternity. It could have merely been moments or it could have been days. But the next thing he remembered was feeling himself being enveloped by a strange light. A strange _green_ light. It had been all around him, surrounding him, bathing him in its essence. And he had opened his eyes again.

"_What . . . what happened?" he choked out, his mind blank. "I thought I was supposed to be dead. . . ."_

_An unfamiliar brunette woman was looking down at him. "The Orichalcos brought you back to life," she said softly and kindly with a smile. "You're safe now. You will serve it and it will sustain you." Her eyes were sad, filled with tales of some immense suffering she had witnessed in the past. They were her most striking feature._

_He frowned in confusion, trying to comprehend what had been said. "The Orichalcos?" he gasped. "But . . . no! Wait a second! Something's wrong here. . . ." He did not have a chance to finish his sentence before he grew dizzy and slumped back. The Orichalcos embraced him again, filling his mind and soul until it had completely washed over him and held his sanity in the balance. It was sorting through the pain in his heart and digging it out. And he was too weakened from the beating to do anything to stop it._

_Vaguely he was aware that the woman had left. In her place was a rough-looking man that forcefully began checking Duke's vital signs. "It's our little secret—we beat you up to the point of death so that you'd be too weak to resist the Orichalcos's takeover of your mind," he hissed. "No one else knows that, not even the higher-ups or our mystery leader. But you're gonna be a big help to us and bring us all your little friends. First, though, you've gotta get better."_

_Duke wanted to resist. He tried to resist. But he felt himself passing out again._

He straightened up, shakily raising a hand to his forehead. Vaguely he heard Yugi and the others who had been his friends calling to him from nearby. "Help," he whispered, without realizing that he was doing so. Somewhere in his subconscious, he knew what he had been doing for the last few months—and he was horrified. And he feared that the Orichalcos was the only thing still keeping him alive. If it could somehow be removed from his body, there was a good chance that he would die. But . . . was he truly living, as he was now? Or was he more like an empty, mindless shell, forced against his will to obey the power that had spared his life?


	13. The Warriors

**Chapter Thirteen**

Seto glared at the row of magicians for only a moment before he reached and grabbed the staff from Siegfried. The older businessman, having no chance to protest the action, frowned at Seto instead and then quietly told Leonhard to be ready to run away. "If something happens to us, I want to know that you will still have a chance to survive," he said firmly.

Leonhard stared at him in horror. "But . . . Elder Brother!" he cried. He could not stand to think of Siegfried being killed, and especially not like this—murdered by angry Duel Monsters. He wondered if he would ever be able to look at the game and the cards in the same way again, even if all of them did manage to escape. Nothing today had gone normally. The Duel Monsters were everywhere, he had attacked his own brother against his will, he had learned of a bizarre force that could bring out people's dark sides, and now they were being cornered by a group of angry mages.

"Just stay back!" Siegfried ordered, gently pushing the child away from him. There was no telling what would happen if the Duel Monsters all decided to blast. The resulting shock could kill them all instantly, depending on the intensity of it, and it could even pass to Leonhard if he was standing too close. Siegfried supposed it would be similar to being electrocuted, though he could not say for certain. He did know that he was not particularly anxious to find out.

Abruptly a new, startlingly familiar voice cried out.

"Wait!"

All the mages lowered their staffs and turned to look in surprise. Then they moved aside into two rows, one on each side of a narrow path they had made, as a man clad in turquoise armor approached and calmly walked down the path. His expression was stern and serious, and one of his eyes had been put out. The lid was closed and a long scar came over it and down the upper part of his cheek. Seto and the others stared.

Leonhard could hardly believe what he was seeing. "He looks like Yugi!" he breathed, coming back over near his brother. But that was not possible, was it? He was not certain what to expect any more. Narrowing his eyes in determination, he stepped forward to stand in front of Siegfried.

"Timaeus!" Pegasus exclaimed. "One of the three Legendary Knights of Atlantis!" This was, indeed, a shocking twist. And it looked as though all the mages held great respect for the warrior. Now all of them were kneeling before him and no longer attempting to blast the quartet. Timaeus spoke to them quietly in what was most likely Atlantean, and then he walked past them to stand in front of the small group.

"It has been a long time," he said quietly, addressing Seto. His voice was deep and matched Atemu's almost perfectly—which Seto still found unsettling. Of course, he found Critias—his own counterpart—to be even more so.

Seto nodded curtly. "Why are you here?" he demanded.

Timaeus sighed. "Well . . . as you well know, the barrier between our world and your own has been breached. The Duel Monsters will not rest until the matter is resolved. Unfortunately, some of them have decided to ally themselves with the very ones who split open the gate." He frowned. "Perhaps they even assisted in making it a reality. But in any case, I, Critias, and Helmos were dispatched to resolve the conflict."

Seto grunted. "It's about time," he muttered, half-turning away. "Has the building really been taken over?"

"Yes," Timaeus replied. "Critias and Helmos are dealing with problems elsewhere. You see, some of the Duel Monsters won't even listen to us." He glanced at Pegasus and the von Schroiders curiously, but made no comment. Instead he turned away as well, intending to go back the way he had came. "Follow me and I will get all of you safely outside."

"What will happen then?" Leonhard spoke up.

Timaeus paused. "Then," he said slowly, "Doom Reborn's plans must be brought to a halt." His expression darkened. "They are the ones behind this. They have revived Paradius to fulfill Dartz's original objectives." It angered him. Why could they not leave well enough alone and get on with their lives? They had the opportunity to, but instead they foolishly chose to continue damaging their lives by making the same mistakes that they had made under the Doom organization. It seemed that some people never learned.

Seto quickly followed after him, and once again the others had to tag along. The blue-eyed businessman looked irritated. "And what about Dartz?" he wanted to know. "Is he the one behind all this?"

Timaeus shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "He was supposed to have traveled on to the afterlife with his family, but maybe he didn't. I've often wondered myself if he is responsible for the rise of Doom Reborn." He tried not to harbor ill feelings toward the previously delusional ruler of Atlantis, but it was hard not to. Dartz had successfully turned the world upsidedown for a time, not to mention having turned Timaeus, Critias, and Helmos into dragons. Most of the world had had no concept of what that madman had been doing secretly in the shadows through the centuries, but at last in the modern era things had come to a head and he had finally been stopped. And now it looked as though it was starting all over again.

Leonhard listened to them silently, biting his lip, and then looked up at his brother. Siegfried looked back, and though the man smiled slightly at him, it was obvious from his eyes that he was just as puzzled as Leonhard was.

"We have to travel to the island where the Orichalcos temple was," Timaeus was saying now. "Helmos was investigating earlier and he found that they've rebuilt it."

Pegasus sighed. "Oh well," he mused. "It should be interesting to see what it looks like, I suppose. Though from what I've heard about it, it's not a place I would enjoy." He shuddered. "There's far too many vicious-looking snakes and nothing cuddly." Then he smirked upon seeing Seto's annoyed expression. He did so enjoy teasing the serious businessman. That was something that never got old.

Siegfried smirked as well, though he did wonder what on earth they were getting into. Most likely it was something that he would prefer to stay out of. As they followed Timaeus up to the roof to retrieve the helicopter, he began a conversation with Pegasus in hopes of learning more about Paradius, and Dartz, and Timaeus. Leonhard walked beside him, listening as well and worrying. Seto merely gazed ahead, wishing that this was not happening.

* * *

Yugi reached Duke first and was alarmed as the raven-haired boy turned toward him. It was not simply the fact that Duke was being controlled by the Orichalcos that horrified him, but the look of pleading that Yugi could see in the red eyes as they flickered briefly. In that split-second, Yugi knew that his friend was still in that body. It was not merely an empty shell under the Orichalcos's influence. Duke's spirit was still there. 

"Duke!" he cried.

Duke smirked at him in a nasty way. "This is a coincidence," he remarked. "It looks like I can complete my mission all at once." He glanced over as the others caught up, and then looked to Yugi again. "All of you are here."

Yugi clenched his fists. "Your mission?" he repeated. "What mission?"

Duke twirled a piece of hair around his finger. "My mission," he retorted smoothly, "was to bring all of you guys to Doom Reborn. I already got Tristan and your mother, Joey." He grinned at the Brooklyn boy, who stared at him in disbelief.

Serenity gave a cry, running forward. This was terrible! Duke was one of her dear friends. She could not stand to see him like this. Joey had warned her, but it was nothing compared to actually seeing him. "Duke . . . how could you?" she whispered, her voice shaking and tears in her eyes. She had not wanted to believe that it was truly him that Joey had seen. But now she doubted that this could be a fake. This boy looked like Duke and sounded like Duke, though his words were foreign to Serenity.

He turned to look at her and smirked again, though something tugged at his heart. "How could I?" He toyed with an Orichalcos card as he spoke. "Because I'm a servant of the Orichalcos now. Your feelings don't matter to me. I'm not your friend anymore, Serenity. You're just going to have to accept it."

"But why?" Serenity demanded. She wanted to go to Duke, but Joey held her back, afraid of what he might do. In spite of that, she strained against her brother's grip. "Duke, you're just not yourself!"

"Of course I'm not!" Duke shot back. "The Orichalcos has control of me now! I'll never be the Duke you used to know!" He slammed the Orichalcos card down on his Chaos Duel Disk. "You never understood me! I'm sick of always being misunderstood! I was never as shallow as you thought I was." He was speaking more to Joey, Tristan, and Téa as he said this. Serenity had always been kind to him, as had Yugi. And he did not know Ryou well enough to be upset with him.

Raphael narrowed his eyes, watching Duke's tirade. This scene was all too familiar. It reminded him too much of how Alister had behaved under the Orichalcos's influence. It had taken Alister's deepest, most personal feelings and had brought them out in a twisted way. It had twisted Raphael's own heart to see one of his closest friends like that—and Valon had felt the same way, though he did not remember now. Raphael could imagine how helpless Yugi and his friends were feeling right now.

Overcome by frustration, and angry at seeing Serenity so upset, Joey ran forward and grabbed Duke's shirt. "So that's why you turned against us?" he yelled, looking as though he was about to shake him. "You were ticked off at us, even though it's your own fault that no one understands you, and so you decided to get your kicks from the Orichalcos?" In his mind he was thinking that this was more how Tristan might react, but his own dislike of Duke was now coming out. This puzzled and angered him so much, that Duke had seemingly turned against them. And now he was breaking Serenity's heart.

Serenity then ran over as well, taking hold of Joey's arm worriedly. "Joey, don't! You'll hurt him!" she cried. _Or he'll hurt you. . . ._ But she had to force herself to believe that Duke was not behaving this way by choice. She was not familiar with the Orichalcos, but she could not grasp the idea that Duke had purposely betrayed all of his friends for power. She knew he was not like that.

Joey was about to give an angry reply when running footsteps coming from the direction of the nearby building caused him and the others to all look over. To their surprise, Tristan, Ms. Kawai, Marik, and Mokuba were all coming towards them. Slowly Joey let go of Duke. Serenity went forward joyously to greet their mother and Tristan. The others came over as well.

Marik stepped back as he watched the reunion and looked to Yugi, who looked relieved to see that the missing people were safe. "We have a problem," the Egyptian said quietly to the short boy. He remembered what Dartz had told them before he had gone off in the opposite direction to secure transportation. The man had mentioned something about one of Doom Reborn's top operatives escaping, but had not said more than that. Obviously he did not want anyone else to interfere with this. But Marik had the feeling that all of them were going to end up involved, whether they wanted to be or not. That was generally what happened.

Yugi turned his attention to the lavender-eyed boy. "I know," he replied sadly, thinking of Duke. Noticing Marik's expression, he bit his lip. "Is there something else?" he asked then. A sinking feeling settling in his stomach.

"A lot more!" Mokuba burst out. He was about to start explaining when he heard Joey give a cry of annoyance.

"Aw man!" the blonde boy growled. "Duke got away! He must've snuck off while we were all distracted!" He slammed his fist into his palm in frustration. It could take them ages to find him again, and there was no telling what calamities he would come up with in the meantime.

Sure enough, the raven-haired boy had made a hasty escape. He had snuck onto the helicopter Dartz had purloined right before it became airborne. He knew where Dartz was likely going, and he was determined to go along. It would not be long before Yugi and the others followed them there, and it seemed like a much better idea to lead them to the ultimate headquarters instead of staying here, where the temporary headquarters was about to collapse.

And yet . . . another part of him wondered if he'd made the escape because he did not want to hurt his friends. He gazed out at the sky at the helicopter rose higher into its depths. He would never be the same person again, but that did not mean that some of the old Duke Devlin did not still exist, deep within his heart.

* * *

It was not long before Timaeus and his small group had a rendezvous with Critias and Helmos. From there they went to the Ishtars' home to collect Ishizu, Rishid, and the Hawkins—who had been invited for dinner—and Critias told of the burned building where Duel Monsters often flocked. So then the group headed there, meeting up with Yugi and the others when they arrived. Directly prior to this, they were in the process of vainly searching for Duke while Marik and Mokuba described their meeting with Dartz and the others listened in stunned shock. 

Recalling the helicopter from earlier, Raphael wondered if Duke had escaped on it along with Dartz. Unless the raven-haired boy had gone back into the building, he did not seem to be around at all. And Raphael dearly hoped that Duke was not such a fool as to enter the skyscraper again, even under the Orichalcos's control. But of course he knew that when one was influenced by that ancient evil, their judgement was often clouded.

Valon listened to the conversation silently, his blue eyes narrowed as he tried to sort through the confused muddle that was his memories. The mention of Dartz had stirred something in his mind. He associated Dartz with anger, with confusion . . . and with the forming of his surrogate family. This last realization puzzled him, and he blinked. What did it all mean? How had this Dartz brought about Valon being with Raphael and Alister, and if he had, why did Valon seem to have those darker feelings towards him? He rubbed his eyes, wishing desperately that he could remember.

That was when Timaeus and the others found them. Yugi was the first to notice them approaching, and for a split second he felt as though he had gone back in time and that it was Atemu standing there instead of Timaeus. He nearly addressed the warrior as such, but quickly caught himself in time.

"Timaeus!" he exclaimed. "What's going on?" He supposed he should not be too surprised to see him and the other Legendary Warriors. After all, since the barrier between the worlds had been breached, it would make sense for them to be there. But Yugi supposed his confusion was largely due to the fact that he had thought he would have seen them before, if they had been there.

Seto stepped forward before Timaeus could answer, smiling very faintly as Mokuba came running toward him and hugged him. He returned the hug and looked at Yugi with narrowed eyes. "That's what I'd like to know," he grumbled. "Apparently Doom is back, and no one knows if Dartz caused this."

Mokuba looked up. "I kinda don't think he did, big brother," he replied slowly.

Another round of explanations followed. Then Critias declared that they must travel to the island where the Orichalcos temple was. That was where they would hopefully receive their answers. It was the heart of their problems. Doom Reborn was there, and Timaeus was certain that Dartz and Duke were going there to meet them—though apparently for differing reasons.

It did not take long for the others to determine that they also needed to journey to the Orichalcos temple. "Yes," Ishizu agreed quietly. "This is what we must do." She gazed at the others, smiling softly as her eyes met Marik's. He nodded in confirmation to his sister's words.

Mokuba went over to Leonhard. He was happy to see the German boy again. Leonhard was someone whom Mokuba had a kinship with and could understand. Both of them had elder brothers who owned large corporations and both of them often wished that they could be of more help. Mokuba hoped that they could become good friends. "I didn't know you guys were in town," he smiled, then bit his lip. "Um, is your brother okay?" he asked, having noticed that Siegfried was wearing a sling. The elder von Schroider was not one of Mokuba's favorite people, but he knew that Leonhard loved him dearly and so Mokuba hoped that Siegfried had goodness within his heart.

Leonhard looked down. "I hope so," he said softly. He could not bear to tell Mokuba what he had done, so instead he added, "He told me he wasn't hurt badly," and did not say anything more, hoping that Mokuba would take the hint.

And he did, though he became all the more curious about what could have happened. "Are you coming with us to the island?" he asked, changing the subject. Then the raven-haired boy hesitated. "I don't know what might happen there. . . ." He knew that the von Schroiders had no connections with magic—at least not before today. Everything must be strange and new to them, and it would only become more so at the island.

Leonhard looked at him worriedly. "Elder Brother wants to, I think," he admitted. "He wants to find out why all of this is happening." Part of him wanted to ask Mokuba if he knew anything more about the Orichalcos, but he was afraid of what else he might be told. And there was also the thought of having to tell Mokuba the truth behind Siegfried being hurt. What would Mokuba think of him if he did? Would he understand that Leonhard had never wanted to hurt his brother?

"He'll get a pretty bad shock, then," Mokuba said then, mostly to himself. Leonhard heard him, but thought only that Siegfried already had received such a shock. It seemed to him that nothing else could be as appalling as to have one's younger brother suddenly attack.

* * *

Even though Seto was not extremely pleased about it, he agreed that they could take one of his private jets to the island. Raphael and Alister had to give directions. This stirred up painful memories for them, especially for Raphael. 

He remembered so many times of going there after their missions, and of idolizing Dartz. Now they were returning again, and Dartz would be there once more. How would their reunion go? Would Raphael be able to stand being around the Atlantean? He had trusted that man. Dartz had been his father. And Dartz had betrayed him and the others.

"Hey . . . Raph?"

The man started, both at the voice and at the nickname that only one person bestowed upon him. Quickly he glanced up at Valon, who looked confused. "Yeah?" he said, perhaps more gruffly than he meant to.

Valon seemed not to notice. "Who's this Dartz bloke?" he asked. "I kinda remember him . . . but it's weird. . . ." He then proceeded to tell Raphael what he felt. The older man listened, his eyes narrowing.

"Dartz is . . . was . . . delusional," he said finally, struggling to speak fairly. "He wanted to see Paradise be reborn on earth, and he believed that he knew how to bring it about. He killed our families, thinking that he was just doing what fate wanted him to and that it would have happened anyway. We didn't know he'd done that. We just knew how much we hated the world after that—the hypocrisy, the cruelty, the hatred and betrayal. . . . Dartz convinced each of us to follow him . . . that he was the only one who knew how to change the world. And since we couldn't stand the world we have, we agreed." He did not realize that his expression had grown dark and full of anger. He had never been able to fully forgive Dartz for what had happened, even though he struggled to make himself remember that Dartz had not been in his right mind and that he was a victim of the Orichalcos as well as the rest of them. Sometimes it was hard to remember. After all, Dartz had seemed sane. But Raphael had found out the hard way that those who appeared sane were often the most dangerous.

Valon frowned. "But . . . if we were hurting people, weren't we all hypocrites?" he asked.

Raphael shut his eyes tightly. "Yes," he replied. "That was the problem with Dartz's plans. But we were all too blind to see it."

Alister listened silently. He knew that Raphael was in turmoil right now. Seeing Dartz again would be hard for all of them—though Valon still did not remember—but it would be the most difficult for Raphael. Dartz had been more than a leader to Raphael—he had been a father, a prophet—almost someone divine. Raphael had desperately wanted something to believe in, and Dartz had given him that. Raphael had been let down the most. Alister and Valon had never trusted and looked up to Dartz as Raphael had, even though they had trusted him to a certain extent.

Slowly he laid his hand on Raphael's shoulder, a rare show of affection for Alister. Both Raphael and Valon looked at him in surprise. Though Alister did not speak, his gray eyes said that everything would be alright. And he would stand by Raphael throughout whatever happened. Somehow, too, he believed that Valon would as well.

* * *

When the island came into view, it looked exactly as it had in the past. The tower, the winding staircase, and the temple at the top were all the same. Raphael glared at the edifice hatefully as the plane began to come in for the descent. Outside thunder clapped loudly and lightning flashed. A fierce storm was about to sweep over the area, but there would be more than simply the physical one. 

"Hey," Valon remarked as they slowly landed, "someone's standing on the temple stairs." He frowned suspiciously at the being, not able to make out who it was and wondering if it was the elusive Dartz.

"It's Duke!" Serenity cried. "I know it is!" She gripped the back of the seat in front of her, agony in her eyes. How were they going to save him from the Orichalcos? It seemed to her that it was an impossible task. It frightened her. What if they could not save him? Would he continue serving the Orichalcos? Other questions roamed through her heart, but she was too afraid to speak any more of them even in her own mind. She did not want any of them to come true.

Tristan looked out the window as well and realized Serenity was right. It was Duke. The hazel-eyed boy wondered if their friend could be saved . . . or if he was too far gone. Maybe they would have to kill Duke to set him free. He cringed at the thought.

Seto grunted, standing up first to get off the plane. "Let's get this over with," he said flatly. He looked at Mokuba meaningfully as he walked past him. He did not want his younger brother here. But he knew Mokuba would not stay behind. At least he wanted the boy to stay close to him and not wander off. There was no telling what would happen around delusional people such as Duke and the other Doom Reborn members. If Mokuba went off by himself, they could catch him for certain.

Siegfried, who had been conversing with Pegasus about the supernatural for most of the flight, looked up. Slowly he reached behind his neck, untying the cloth that had been used as the sling. The cut in his arm truly was not serious, and if they were attacked he wanted the use of both of his arms to fight back with.

Pegasus glanced at him with some amusement. "Impatient, aren't we?" he commented as he stood up.

Siegfried smirked. "No," he replied. "Merely being prepared." As he stood as well and headed for the door, he ruffled Leonhard's hair as the boy looked at him worriedly.

* * *

Duke came to attention as everyone walked off the plane. "I knew you'd find me here!" he declared, tossing his raven locks vainly. "Once you used your brains, it wasn't that hard to figure it out, was it?" He could faintly hear his own voice in his mind, screaming _"No! Go back!"_ but he ignored it. 

"Come on, man!" Tristan yelled, clenching a fist in frustration. "You know you don't want to do this!" He hoped that someone would have a plan. Raphael had briefly mentioned a time when Alister had been poisoned by the Orichalcos, and Alister had added that he had fought desperately against it—though at times he had not known what it had been making his body do and say. He had not been able to completely break free from it until after he had surrendered the duel in a desperate effort to save Raphael's and Valon's lives. Hearing all of that had only made Tristan panic all the more. What if it would take some sort of intense, tragic event for Duke to gain control of himself? Tristan did not want to see that happen. Maybe they would not all come out of it alive.

"Of course I didn't!" Duke screamed back, much to everyone's surprise. His eyes flashed. "Why do you think I snuck away on Dartz's helicopter? I didn't want to have to hurt any of you!" A hand flew to his forehead and he shuddered, struggling against the Orichalcos, but it was of no use. It had been coursing throughout his body for three months. By the time he had been well enough that he could fight it, it had already taken complete control of him.

Seeing Duke's action, Yugi stepped forward and cried out, "You have to keep fighting back, Duke!" He clenched his fists frantically. There had to be something they could do, and yet it all seemed so hopeless! Again he wished that Atemu was there, but he knew it was pointless to do so. This was something they had to solve on their own. But Yugi did not know if he was strong enough.

"I've tried!" Duke retorted. "Don't you get it, Yugi? There's no hope for me anymore." With that he revealed the horrible secret behind his behavior—that he had been deliberately beaten to death so that he would not be able to resist the Orichalcos when they poisoned him with it. A mixture of alarm, disbelief, and outrage swept over his friends and the others.

Dartz, deep within the chambers of the temple, narrowed his eyes as he heard Duke's story echoing from outside. Doom Reborn was indeed shrewd—and cruel. Perhaps it was even more so than the original organization he had created. What monster could be behind this? He supposed he was a hypocrite for thinking such a thing. Most likely the new leader was just as deceived and delusional as he had been. Vivalene had said that she was not the leader. But then . . . who was?

He paused, sickened as he heard voices emanating from the stone tablets that held captive the many souls. They were pleading to be let out, but he wondered how he would do that. Atemu had freed the other souls by having them concentrate on the light instead of the dark. That, however, had been after the souls had been given to the Leviathan. Right now, these souls were still being held in the waiting area. Dartz was not certain how to release them. As the leader of the original Doom, he had held that power, but he held it no longer.

Slowly he walked to the nearest wall of tablets and placed his hand over the nearest one. It was ice cold. He wondered if Atemu's method would work. "Can you hear me?" he asked finally, keeping his voice low. The spirits quieted expectantly. "I am going to try to free all of you," he continued, "but you have to do exactly what I say. Concentrate on the light. It was the darkness in your hearts that claimed you in the first place. If you think of the light in your hearts, of what and who drove you to survive before you were captured, then perhaps . . . perhaps the Orichalcos will contain you no longer."

There was another silence. Then, slowly, the tablets began to glow. Dartz stepped back, watching with apprehension, and then saw the images on the tablets beginning to vanish. The souls were being set free, the tablets shattering as they fled. As Dartz watched this, he determined that he could speed up the process of their departure by breaking some of the other stones. However, he knew that it was risky. There were surely other Doom Reborn members roaming about. It was actually strange that he had not encountered any, unless they had wanted him to come and had known that he would try to free the souls. He frowned. What did they have in mind?

A wicked laugh caused him to turn around. Vivalene entered the room, clapping slowly in a mocking way. She smirked at him then, showing pearly white teeth. "Excellent, darling!" she cried. "Thank you for getting rid of those pathetic wall decorations."

Dartz glared at her. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

Vivalene shrugged. "They were too weak to really be of much help," she replied. "All the ones on that wall we really didn't need anyway. The rest, the more powerful ones, have been locked away elsewhere. Sorry, darling." She winked. "Surely you didn't expect that things would be so frightfully easy."

Dartz hated this woman. He took a step toward her, his eyes narrowed darkly. "I want to see your leader," he demanded.

Vivalene shrugged. "Sorry, that's not possible yet. You haven't beaten me." _And you won't,_ she thought to herself. _But we've been working on a new plan. A delightfully devious plan that should put you in contact with our illustrious leader quite soon._

"Then let's duel right now," Dartz said quietly, though he was obviously angry. He wanted to end this as soon as possible, and the quickest way to do that would be to see the commander.

Vivalene's smirk widened. "Yes, let's," she agreed, bringing out her duel disk. "Don't feel too badly when I defeat you. After all, your soul was strong enough to be the final boost that the Leviathan needed, last time." As if remembering something, she let out a mock gasp. "Oh no! I forgot, you don't like the Leviathan anymore, do you."

Dartz ignored that. "I will set the terms for our battle," he announced. "If you win, you will of course gain my soul. But if I win, not only will I be able to speak with your leader, but the rest of the souls you have captured so far will be set free." The loss of the souls would weaken Doom Reborn immensely and then they would have to start all over again. Dartz wanted to make certain that they would not start over at all.

Vivalene pouted. "Seeing the leader would be quite enough of a reward," she replied. "And I can't free all the souls. Half, maybe, or a third, but not all. Only the leader can free them all." Before Dartz could agree or disagree, she drew her first hand and played a card, beginning their deciding battle. Of course, she did not have the slightest intention of losing. But neither did Dartz. He was determined that this battle would not end in a draw. He would win.


	14. The Beginning of the End

**Chapter Fourteen**

Siegfried frowned as a bright green light abruptly shot forth from the roof of the temple into the sky. He was not certain what to make of this, and Leonhard was suddenly terrified that the light would hypnotize him again. Suddenly the child was clinging to his brother, burying his face in Siegfried's purple jacket. Siegfried looked down at him with surprise at first, but then understood and held him close. "It's alright," he said softly.

"It isn't alright," Leonhard whispered shakily. "Not if I get controlled again . . . and hurt you. . . ." Mokuba looked at him, biting his lip, and suddenly understood why Leonhard had been so apprehensive and unwilling to tell what had happened to Siegfried.

Duke glanced at them in a bored way. "That light won't do anything to him," he said. "That's just the normal Orichalcos light. The light that took control of him was doctored especially for the purpose of gathering up new servants." He put his hands on his hips. "Anyway, all of you have to follow me inside the temple." It seemed that any trace of his old self that had existed a moment before had now faded back into the recesses of his Orichalcos-consumed body. Yugi and the others regarded him with sadness.

"That's so horrible," Ryou said softly, ignoring Duke's last statement. "He never wanted to be this way—it was forced on him!" He shuddered and then had to duck as a Curse of Dragon swooped low overheard. The Duel Monsters were flocking around the island, just as they had around the abandoned skyscraper in the city.

"There has to be something we can do!" Tristan said in frustration, even though he did not have the faintest idea what that would be.

"It's all hopeless," came a mostly unfamiliar female voice from around the side of the building. Raphael and Alister, however, recognized it instantly. They narrowed their eyes, watching as Martha and Howard Paltridge came into view. Thunder boomed overhead, and Raphael thought dryly that it was quite appropriate for the occasion.

"Who's that?" Yugi exclaimed.

"Valon's parents," Raphael growled. He had hoped that they would not be receiving a visit from them right now, but he supposed that it was foolish to believe that they would not make an appearance. He clenched a fist, praying that Valon would not believe whatever lies they would begin to tell him.

Valon stared at him. "My parents?" he cried. His eyes narrowed as he recalled that Raphael had never told Valon what he had been going to about his parents. Yugi and the others have arrived just when Raphael had been going to do so. But whatever Raphael had been going to say, it had not been positive.

Martha was already coming over to him. "Dear Valon, it's been so long," she said softly, putting on a false air of caring. She smiled, reaching for him. He just stared at her suspiciously before backing up slightly. She looked frustrated. "Valon, I'm your mother!" she scolded. "You don't have to be afraid of me."

"Yeah?" he retorted. "Well, Raph thinks you hired a bloke that busted into our house earlier." He crossed his arms, taking special note of the brief looks of shock and annoyance that passed through their eyes.

"That's ridiculous!" Howard growled sternly, frowning under his moustache. "He and that Mackenzie have been feeding you lies. Surely you haven't forgotten how Mackenzie nearly got you and Raphael both killed?" Naturally he and Martha both knew of Valon's amnesia, since Rocky had informed them, but they had to pretend that they knew nothing of it. Howard was certain that they could convince Valon to come with them and that his friends were not really his friends at all.

Valon wavered, while Raphael and Alister both watched him tensely. They knew that they had to allow him to answer for himself, though once the Paltridges started in on their made-up stories, then Valon's friends would immediately jump in to tell the truth.

"Yeah, I do remember," the Australian said then, glaring at Martha and Howard. "But he wasn't himself. He and Raph are my chums. Naw . . . they're more than that. They're my family." He was completely serious, which was a rare thing to see, and his blue eyes were sincere and firm as they bored into those of his shocked parents. "They've been here for me, but you two haven't! Some parents." He lowered his arms to his sides, clenching his fists. He was surprised to realize just how strongly he felt about what he was saying. His memories could be taken away, but his heart still remembered. Alister and Raphael had been more of a family to him than anyone else, save for the nun Mother Mary, who had died in a church fire. He blinked, vaguely recalling this in his mind.

Raphael and Alister looked at him in surprise, then reached out to lay their hands on his shoulders. Then their friend was truly back. He still did not remember everything, but he knew what was important. And now they had the confidence that he would not fall prey to his parents' falsehoods.

Martha and Howard also looked surprised, but then anger came over their features. "So you chose them over us?" Martha exclaimed in disbelief. She looked at Howard, as if unable to believe that this had happened. Then they were too late. She realized what Raphael and Alister just had—that Valon would never go with them now. She cursed Rocky for his laziness in bringing their son back to them. Yes, it was Rocky's fault, and if he managed to get out of jail, he would be punished. There was no excuse for this failure that he had unwittingly helped to bring about.

"Hey," Valon retorted, "I was surprised that it happened myself. But you and _Dad_ abandoned me, _Mum_. These fellas never have." His blue eyes flashed. "I'm sick of bein' lied to! That motorcycle gang I was with was lyin' to me the whole time I was with 'em. They really knew who I am, but they never told me!" Of course, it had only been Rocky who had actually known Valon's identity, but Valon did not know that. For all he would know, it had been all of them.

Howard narrowed his eyes. "Well, how do you know that these friends of yours have been telling you the truth?" he snapped, but in saying so he was making a fatal mistake.

Alister frowned at him from behind his honey-colored sunglasses. "Then you knew all along that Valon has amnesia," he deduced. It all fit together, just as he and Raphael had suspected.

Howard's eyes widened and he mentally cursed as he tried to rectify this damage, but it was too late. "Of course not!" he yelled. "I, er . . . Valon admitted that he had amnesia!" he said at last, grabbing desperately at a last straw. "He told about the motorcycle gang he was with!"

Raphael stepped forward angrily. "Yeah, but I don't remember him mentioning when he was with them," he replied. "And he didn't actually say he has amnesia. If you really didn't know, then you should have been surprised when he talked about the gang."

Valon nodded firmly. "That's right!" he cried. "Sorry, but it looks like your plans are all washed up." He watched his parents step back in frustration. "And I think I've got a right to know why you wanted me in the first place," he declared then.

"We only wanted our son back with us!" Martha wailed, but she knew it was useless. Then her eyes narrowed. "And we'll still have him, if we have anything to say about it. You're not of legal age yet, Valon. You still belong with us!" She was determined that she and Howard would not give up. Having Valon was too important in their quest for power and glory to resign already. There were still other things that they could do.

"You gave up that right when you sold Valon years ago," Raphael told her darkly. "Whether he's of legal age or not, he's not gonna go back with you as long as we have anything to say about it." These people disgusted him to no end. They had committed an abominable sin by selling their own son, and now they wanted him back for some other underhanded purpose. Had they not caused him enough pain already? Raphael felt that they should allow Valon to be at peace now that he finally had a place to call home and people to call family.

"And now," Alister added, his gray eyes flashing behind the shades, "you should leave. There's nothing more for you to do."

Martha clenched a fist and looked to Valon, as if she was vainly hoping that he would reconsider. When she only received a glare from his sapphire eyes in reply, she glared right back and then looked to Howard. They should retreat for now. There was no point in staying. They could try again another day.

She was stunned at the look of refusal she found on her husband's face. For him, this was not over, and he was not leaving without Valon. Everything else had failed. Now he would take their son by force. Martha cried out in protest, but he paid no heed as he lunged forward and punched Alister in the stomach. The redhead doubled over, hissing in pain, and then Howard proceeded to try the same thing on Valon.

Instead the Australian boy lunged right back, tackling him to the ground. He was tired of being jerked around in every possible direction. And Howard had just proven by his act of violence towards Alister that he could not be trusted. Furiously Valon began striking the man, his temper finally snapping.

"Valon!" Raphael yelled at him worriedly as he looked to Alister to make certain that he was alright. The younger man straightened up, nodding to Raphael, and then turned his attention to their brunette friend. Valon could end up hurt, but the way things looked, so could Howard. Quickly Raphael moved forward, grabbing Valon under his arms and pulling him back.

The boy struggled against him. "Let me go!" he demanded, blinded by his anger and rage. His father had beaten him. He remembered it vaguely in his mind. And now he was returning the action. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. That was a philosophy that Valon adhered to greatly. He had learned it growing up on the cruel streets. And at times like this, he felt that it applied.

But Raphael did not let go. "I want to hurt him too," he growled, "but that won't solve anything." He held on to the flailing teenager, firmly keeping his arms around the boy's waist, until Valon began to calm down. Howard, disturbed by Valon's actions and now beginning to realize the extent of his strength, slowly sat up and backed away as Martha watched with wide eyes.

She was not the only one. Yugi and the others were staring as well, stunned at the series of events they were witnessing and at the truth that had been revealed about Valon's parents. Even Duke had paused in his madness to observe things, or so they thought.

"Okay, show's over," the raven-haired boy announced suddenly, causing their attention to divert back to him. They were alarmed to see a turquoise aura around him now, but only Raphael and Alister understood what that meant. The same thing had happened to Alister right before he had lost all control of his sanity. Any remaining threads of Duke's true self were slipping away.

"This isn't right, Duke!" Serenity screamed as a panic clenched her heart that could not be loosened. "Whatever you're going to do, you can't!"

He laughed maniacally. "But I can!" he replied. "I can finally get back at all of you for the way you always misunderstood me!" The Orichalcos burst forth from his form, sweeping over all of them and sending them flying back almost to the very edge of the grounds. Cries of pain rent the air, and the bikers, who were the only ones far enough away to not be affected, were chilled by the sounds.

That was when the lightning struck the beam of Orichalcos that was over the progressing duel. The force of nature traveled down through the green light, which was making an excellent conductor, and viciously electrocuted both Vivalene and Dartz. Their screams were added to the others', and the shockwaves spread out from the Seal of Orichalcos, expanding it and causing it to slam against every inside wall of the temple. Then it began to shake uncontrollably.

The Legendary Knights, who had started to venture into the temple while Duke had been distracted, immediately moved back as the ripples from the shockwave reached the entrance. They barely managed to avoid it, but Duke was not as lucky. He gave a haunting cry of anguish, and since the Orichalcos was fused within him, the electricity went through him with much more of a force than it had with anyone else.

He stared up blankly at the sky, his red eyes flickering and going back to emerald green for a split second before they clouded over and he collapsed lifelessly to the stone steps. For a moment the others were certain that they heard Duke's voice echoing around them. _"Look what they did to me! I'm sorry . . . I didn't want this."_

Serenity, who was just struggling to sit up, stared in disbelief and horror. "No!" she screamed, reaching for him in vain. Joey pulled her close, knowing that there was nothing they could do. She clung to him, sobbing uncontrollably and knowing that he would not survive. Joey, seeing the temple shake more violently, began to wonder if any of them would.

* * *

It only took several more moments before the Orichalcos temple was collapsing completely. It had seemed impenetrable, a great stone fortress, and yet it was being destroyed by nature—and more importantly, by the very force that those who had built it were relying on. 

"We've got to evacuate immediately!" Critias yelled, beginning to usher Yugi and the others to the jet. Once they were all aboard, he planned that he, Helmos, and Timaeus would stay behind and try to salvage something—or someone. The fact that the building was caving in concerned him greatly. What would happen to all the trapped souls? Would they be set free, or would they be destroyed completely? And what of Doom Reborn? It had seemed that Duke and the two who were inside were the only members who had been there. Martha and Howard had already escaped on a helicopter. The rest had to be elsewhere.

Serenity tried to get free as she and Joey ran along. "We can't leave without Duke!" she choked out, looking at her brother pleadingly. Even though he was most certainly dead this time, they had to recover his body and return it to the cemetery, where he would hopefully rest in peace without anyone else disturbing him.

Joey clenched his teeth and held Serenity's wrist tighter. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I know." He finally understood the full extent of Duke's struggle and his madness. The entire episode was tragic. And Joey wished that he had shown more understanding before. Duke had needed his friends to help him, but in the end that had not been enough to save him either. Still . . . Joey could not help but wonder if things would have turned out differently had all of them believed in Duke.

"I'll get him!" Tristan yelled, going to run back. He did not want to believe that this was happening . . . that Duke was truly dead this time . . . that they were leaving sobered and without a victory. And those inside, trapped by the Seal, would not be able to be saved. If they were still alive after the electrocutions they had suffered, they would not be able to escape because of the Orichalcos. They would die. He swallowed. He did not know who was inside, but it seemed a horrible death for anyone.

Siegfried was running back to the plane with Leonhard as pieces of the stone structure were breaking off and falling all around them and everyone else. He hissed in pain, feeling large chunks bouncing off his back, and tried to shield his brother from the worst of it. He noticed that Seto was doing the same with Mokuba. Then he knew no more as something hard slammed down on his head. He gasped, falling forward as blackness claimed him.

Leonhard screamed as Siegfried collapsed to the ground. Even though it was dangerous, he knelt down and began shaking him gently, not caring as more pieces rained down on and around him. "Elder brother! Elder brother!" he pleaded desperately, first in English before switching to German without realizing he was doing so. But Siegfried lay still and unmoving, his light pink hair falling gently around his face. Leonhard could not tell if he was dead or merely unconscious. The piece that had struck him had been flat, but hard. Tears streamed from his eyes as he tried in vain to revive the brother he loved so much.

Seto paused as he and Mokuba went past, seeing this. Then he growled, his eyes narrowing. "Go on to the plane," he ordered.

Mokuba stopped, looking over as well and biting his lip. "Are you going to help, Seto?" he asked, worry for his own brother's safety shining in his eyes. Yet of course he knew that someone had to help. And they were the last ones. Everyone else was on board by now, save for Tristan.

"Just go!" Seto snapped, not wanting Mokuba to remain in the danger zone.

The child swallowed hard, but obeyed.

Muttering to himself, Seto went over to where Leonhard was still desperately trying to awaken Siegfried. The teenage businessman gently pushed Leonhard away and reached down, pulling the older man's body up into his arms. Siegfried was most definitely not one of Seto's favorite people, but he would not leave him here to die with his brother—if he was not already dead from the blow. Leonhard loved Siegfried, and for a split second when Seto had looked at them, he had seen his own brother kneeling in front of a lifeless Seto. He had vowed to live to be there for Mokuba. He wondered if Siegfried had made a similar vow.

Leonhard looked up at Seto in disbelief and then awe, hurrying after him as he turned to rush to the plane before something else happened. "Thank you," he whispered again and again, the tears continuing to spill from his hazel eyes. Siegfried had to still be alive. Leonhard would not be able to stand it if he was not. And he would be forever grateful to Seto for this act of kindness. He himself never would have been able to have gotten Siegfried away.

Yugi was doing a headcount when Seto coldly walked in carrying Siegfried's limp body. The short boy started in surprise. "What happened?" he gasped, his violet eyes widening.

Seto grunted. "Apparently some of the temple hit him," he answered.

Leonhard, who had ran in right behind Seto, looked at Yugi and smiled shakily. "Herr Kaiba saved him," he proclaimed. Seto grunted.

Yugi smiled too, but then started as he realized that Tristan was not back yet. From Téa's and Joey's alarmed expressions, they had realized it too. The others also soon observed that he was still missing.

"We can't go without Tristan!" Yugi exclaimed then, running back to the door and looking out. He gasped in horror as he saw the rest of the temple crashing to the earth. _No,_ he choked out silently. Tristan had gone back for Duke's body. Had he been in that? Yugi looked around desperately, unable to see him. He did notice that the beam of the Orichalcos flickered, then went out. He swallowed hard, thinking of those that had perished inside.

"Wait!" Serenity cried then, seeing something. "There he is! It must be him!" She could see a figure weakly stumbling towards the plane. Quickly she and several others ran out to meet him, and discovered that indeed, it was Tristan.

He looked up at them, battered, bruised, and bleeding—and alone. Despair, failure, and frustration were all in his eyes. He leaned heavily on his right leg, and several bad cuts could be seen through the torn cloth of his left pant leg. "He's gone," he whispered angrily. "I . . . I couldn't save him. I couldn't even get his body back. . . ." He clenched a fist tightly, adding more streams of blood to the mix.

Serenity sobbed, gripping his hand with her own and gently loosening his fingers. "Oh Tristan," she said softly, tears glistening in her usually bright eyes, "none of us could. None of us could save him." Her lip trembled and then a sob tore free as she, Joey, and Yugi began to help Tristan up the steps to the plane. "In the end . . . none of us were strong enough."

The ruined rubble of the Orichalcos temple stood behind them as several rays of the sunset escaped from a cloud, tinting the fallen rocks with a deep crimson.


	15. The Epilogue

**Note: It's hard to believe that this story has finally come to an end. And a rather shocking end at that. But the end of this story doesn't mark the end of the characters' adventures. The sequel is waiting in the wings, and I've been preparing for it all along the way and dropping hints. Thanks to everyone who has showed interest! **

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* * *

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**Epilogue**

The flight back to Domino City was mostly silent. No one knew what to say. Anything they could think of seemed irrelevant. All were thinking of the horrors they had witnessed and had been unable to prevent. Duke was dead. And even when Helmos finally told them that those within the temple had been Vivalene and Dartz, it did not change their opinions of how horrible it had been for them to die in the way that they had. They were too sobered to think otherwise.

The wounded were tended to. Most of the party had sustained some injuries, though some were worse off than others. Seto had his doctors look at both Tristan and Siegfried in the small infirmary he had built into the plane. Tristan's lacerations had been cleaned, stitched, and bandaged. Siegfried had regained consciousness and appeared to have a mild concussion, but he would recover.

Yugi, sitting by the window as night fell upon them, shut his eyes tightly as the tears began to emerge again. When he thought of what had taken place on that island, his heart broke all over again. He could not stand it. People had died. He had wanted to think that they could save Duke, but they had failed. Serenity was right—none of them had been strong enough. Duke had needed a help that not one of them had been able to give to him.

Téa gently laid her hand on his shoulder, startling him. "Yugi," she said softly, her eyes sad though she was trying to be strong. "I feel like crying too."

He looked up at her. "We failed, Téa!" he cried, clenching his fists. "What good did going there even do? We couldn't do anything!"

Téa struggled to find an answer, but she had none. Perhaps Yugi was right. Perhaps it would have been just as well if they had not come and had not seen the horrors that they had. Then they would not be so haunted. Then she would not have to watch her childhood friend's heart shattering into tiny pieces.

Silence again reigned for several moments, and then Raphael spoke. "If we hadn't come, and you heard about the collapse later, you'd always regret not having been here," he said quietly.

All of those in the room started and looked over at the blonde man and at Alister too, who was nodding.

The redhead slowly removed his sunglasses. "Raphael's right," he said quietly. "You would have always wondered if there had been something you could have done. Now, at least, you know there wasn't." His gray eyes were tired. He had seen so much destruction in the past, during the war. Seeing more just made him feel numb. He had no more tears to spend.

Yugi and Téa looked at each other and then at everyone else. Yugi slowly nodded in understanding. It did not ease his pain any, but it did make sense. He would have regretted things even more if they had not come. The bikers were right.

Valon watched them, thinking again of the few memories he recalled—mainly, that of Alister going mad from the Orichalcos. What if his story had ended as tragically as Duke's? It could have. Alister had been poisoned against his will, just as Duke had. Both of them had fought diligently against the Orichalcos's powers, all that they could—with one difference. Alister had won, while Duke had failed. What had made the difference? Had Duke's failure come solely from the fact that he had been poisoned for a longer period of time? Valon frowned. That was possible, he supposed, but somehow he did not think that was it.

And there was something else he wanted to know. He looked over at Raphael. "Hey, Raph?" he said quietly.

The blonde looked down at him. "What is it?" he asked.

Valon bit his lip, unsure as to how Raphael would react to what he was about to ask. "How do you feel . . . y'know . . . about that Dartz guy being dead?"

Raphael shut his eyes tightly. He had been trying to find the answer to that question ever since he had found out that Dartz had been involved. They had not undergone the confrontation he had thought they would, but was it a relief—or a disappointment? Had some part of him wanted to see Dartz again, for reasons of closure? Did some small part of him even still care about the man, despite the immense betrayal he had suffered? He recognized that he had never fully known Dartz. What he had known had been a lonely, disillusioned soul, twisted and manipulated by the Orichalcos. He wondered if somewhere in his heart, he could find room to pity Dartz . . . or even to fully forgive him.

"I don't know," he said at last, his voice rough yet honest. "I don't know."

Valon nodded slowly, not pressing him further.

* * *

Night swiftly descended upon the rubble as well. The crimson light of the sun had faded, but the stones were still stained red, at least in the mind's eye of several people. It was a graveyard, the tombs unmarked but obviously there. And yet, it still held its surprises. 

Several stones fell away as a hand clawed desperately for the surface. It was cracked and bleeding, and flailed about as its owner realized that freedom would finally be achieved. The hand grabbed more stones, shoving them away, and then mint hair broke the surface. The locks swept around the figure's face and down the ragged clothing upon the raw back as the weary man struggled to get completely on top of what had nearly been his grave.

Dartz bent over, coughing repeatedly from the debris surrounding him and that he had been unwillingly breathing in. The Seal of Orichalcos had protected him and Vivalene somewhat as the building had collapsed in. Nothing solid had been able to penetrate, so the broken-up rocks and stones had bounced away. The Seal had acted as a bubble around them, even after the upward beam had faded, and when Dartz had regained consciousness after an unknown period of time, he had been alone and the bubble had been fading. He had heard voices calling out to him as he had woken up—those of his family members, or at least of some of them. He had not heard Phiona.

As the bubble had faded away, he had managed to begin digging his way out of the mess. There had been less for him to do because of the dome he had been in, and now he was at last free. The air whipped against his face, blowing his hair back.

_This mission was a failure,_ he thought to himself as he sat upon the rocks. _Again the duel ended in a draw . . . if it ended at all. But if it didn't, how did I escape? And where did that woman go? _There were so many unanswered questions. And it seemed eerie in a way, to be sitting on top of what had used to be the Orichalcos temple. The ancient force had destroyed the building, with the lightning's help, and yet it had also protected Dartz. He found it all very ironic.

Then he saw the beams of light floating up from all around him. He was confused at first, especially when he heard laughing and happy voices from within the spheres, but then he realized. More of the souls had been set free. It had happened after all. Perhaps the destruction of the temple had brought it about. He supposed he would never know. But they were free—free to return to their bodies and continue on with their lives and their families and their friends. And was he mistaken, or did some of the souls cry "Thank you!" to him? He did not know that he was deserving of it, but they called it anyway.

Dartz watched the souls' departure with a mixture of relief and triumph. Perhaps now the other souls, the ones he had taken throughout the centuries, would leave him in peace. Doom Reborn's plans had been stalled for an indefinite amount of time. And he would see to it that Doom Reborn would not keep hold of the company that he had once worked hard to build. Paradius would indeed rise again, but it would be different than it had been in the past. No longer would it be a front for an organization that captured souls. It would simply be a legitimate company, and he would use it in order to support his family.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of flapping wings and a splatter of blood that rained onto the stones near him. Stunned and confused, the golden-eyed man looked up and then quickly had to dodge both another spray of blood and a strange creature that was plummeting to the ground. Dartz remained in the corner, around a pillar that was still half-standing, and shielded his eyes until he heard the thump a few seconds later.

He dared to look up. Laying on the stones in front of him was what appeared to be a humanoid with two wings sprouting out from his back. Slowly the thing pulled itself to its knees, appearing to be slightly dazed. It blinked, brushing fiery red bangs out of its ice-blue eyes, and seemed at first not to notice the blood coming from its shoulder and from the torn, feathered wing on his right. Dartz could only continue to stare. Instead of two angel wings or two demon wings, it possessed one of each. It was wearing a tight-fitting turtleneck shirt and pants, both black in color and both showing off its unusually lanky form. Two purple belts were around its waist, one obviously a mere decoration. Its hair was shaggy and fluffy, hanging to about partway down its neck.

At last Dartz managed to find his voice. "Who . . . what are you?" he demanded, glaring at this strange apparition.

It focused on him and grinned, showing pearly white teeth that seemed to be slightly fanged. "You're Dartz," it mused in a soft, smooth voice, unlike anything the Atlantean had ever heard before. And yet, there was something familiar about it. . . .

The mint-haired man's eyes narrowed. "And how do you know this?" he asked, deciding that the thing must be a male. He could see the outline of a man's chest through the skintight shirt, and the voice had possessed a certain masculine quality.

Now the creature reached up, clapping a hand over its wounded shoulder. Its angel wing was spread out, limp and ragged and hanging onto the ground, while the demon wing was folded neatly on its back. "He doesn't like you," it said in that quiet tone, as if in deep contemplation. "That means I _do_ like you!"

Dartz watched in distaste as blood continued to drip down from the wounds and onto the broken rocks. He moved away before it could spill onto him. "What _are_ you babbling about?" he growled, slowly standing and taking several cautious steps forward. The thing appeared to be badly injured, so the former king of Atlantis was desperately hoping that it would not be a threat. _I had thought my adventures were over for the night!_

"I hate what he loves," was the simply-stated reply, "and I love what he hates."

Dartz was only more confused than ever. "Who?" he demanded. "I would advise you to speak plainly, if you wish to receive medical help." The helicopter he had used was still there. He could see it vaguely against the night sky. It was a relief to know that he would still be able to escape. And it appeared that he would have to take this strange being with him. What was it? Was it some secret weapon that Doom Reborn had been planning to use? In any case, Dartz was determined to find out.

"I'm not mortal. Medics can't help me." The creature purred, struggling to get back up. Its torn wing threw it off-balance, causing it to collapse back to the rocky ground. It seemed not to care. "That doesn't mean I can't die, though," it announced. "But if I die . . . part of him dies as well. I don't want part of him to die . . . I want all of him to die! I want to kill him. He wants to die. I want to fulfill it."

By now Dartz had just about lost all patience with the absurd thing and its nonsensical statements. "What manner of beast are you?" he snapped, finally drawing near enough to examine the tattered wing. The tear was near the top, going horizontally through nearly a third of the appendage. In addition, the bone in that area was crushed and broken. The creature's right hand was still clapped over its shoulder, so Dartz was unable to see the extent of that injury. He did not even understand how it had gotten wounded in the first place. "Were you one of the trapped souls?"

"I was trapped," it answered, and to Dartz's absolute shock, it moved closer and snuggled next to him. "I'm Alexander. You set me free."

Dartz felt extremely put out, not to mention baffled. "Oh lucky me," he muttered, as Alexander closed his eyes in contentment.

_Das Ende_


End file.
